Implementing Public Engagement

Working with Community-Based Organizations

About Community-Based Organizations (CBOs)

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are nonprofit or grassroots organizations that advocate for specific policies, deliver community services or provide support to a specific area or population of people. These organizations typically have deep connections to the communities they serve and significant experience with on-the-ground, culturally competent engagement. Culturally competent engagement is the use of knowledge of unique, dynamic cultural values to respectfully and effectively engage with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Role of CBOs in Public Participation

CBOs’ established trust and credibility within their communities may allow for more effective engagement, particularly with underrepresented or diverse groups. They can excel at culturally appropriate and accessible outreach. Additionally, CBOs can provide insight into the local stakeholder landscape and share input on preferred/effective engagement techniques in a community.

Ways to Work with CBOs

City staff should consider working with CBOs during citywide or community-focused projects where their expertise and community connections align with the project’s goals. For citywide projects, it is important to identify CBOs whose mission and expertise correspond to the specific topics or objectives of the project. Consider researching beyond established organizations to find grassroots groups and informal community networks that may have strong community trust but limited formal infrastructure. Bringing CBOs into the process early can allow for the co-development of effective engagement strategies. However, staff should remain mindful of the capacity and budget constraints faced by many CBOs, as well as the potential for engagement fatigue from repeated requests by multiple agencies.

Paid partnerships such as grants, stipends or a contract for services can support CBOs’ capacity to participate when projects' budgets can accommodate this. All contracted work with CBOs is to comply with the City's Municipal Code Sections 22.3208 and 22.3210 and Purchasing and Contracting regulations.

For paid partnerships with CBOs:

• Consider providing a portion of the funding upfront once the CBO is onboarded. This approach helps alleviate the financial burden of carrying costs, particularly for smaller organizations.
• Consider implementing a streamlined application process for CBOs that captures essential information for contracting and outlines the proposed approach to the work. The application form should be designed to minimize the time required to complete it (see template application (Microsoft Word file)). This approach can help engage CBOs with varying capacities. It is also important to recognize that smaller CBOs may have limited capacity to participate in all aspects of the partnership. For instance, some organizations may only be able to attend coalition meetings or support engagement events, but not both. Despite this, smaller CBOs can still offer valuable insights and opportunities and should be encouraged to apply. Their proposals may reflect a reduced scope of services with a correspondingly lower budget than the maximum available.
• Establish clear guidelines from the beginning. This includes clearly outlining the desired engagement outcomes, the specific input required and any demographic data collection requests. Providing engagement templates or resources such as flyers, posters, fillable forms or surveys can help ensure clarity and streamline communication.
  • While CBOs may have an advocacy arm of their organization, it is important to set expectations that CBO staff remain impartial about the project and engagement outcomes when serving in a contracted engagement role with the City.
• Reasonable time should be allotted for CBOs to develop their engagement plans, and flexibility should be maintained in case project goals or expectations shift. Allow CBOs the flexibility to design and implement outreach and engagement strategies in ways that best align with the needs of their communities.
• Report back to CBOs to share project outcomes and demonstrate how public input influenced decisions to foster trust and long-term relationships.