Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne governments go all-in on expanded community engagement
A CNU Midwest Conversation
The following is a conversation between four people utilizing web-based public engagement platforms in the Midwest:Sophia Robison, Head of Practice for Social PinpointDan Baisden, Community Development Administrator with the City of Fort Wayne, IndianaAudrey Wells, Digital Communications Specialist for the City of PittsburghLaura Tsutsui, Digital Engagement Coordinator in the City of Pittsburgh's Office of the Mayor
Digital engagement platforms have emerged as indispensable tools for fostering democratic participation as evident in cities like Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These platforms serve as conduits for civic involvement, bridging the gap between local governments and their constituents. Pittsburgh's EngagePGH, born out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, has evolved into a comprehensive citywide initiative, earning accolades such as the 2023 International Association for Public Participation's Organization of the Year Award. Inspired by Pittsburgh's EngagePGH platform, Fort Wayne recently launched their own platform to enhance communication and collaboration on vital community projects. These platforms, both powered by a tool called Social Pinpoint, signify a paradigm shift towards inclusive governance and transparent decision-making, setting a new precedent for public engagement. A brief Q&A with Fort Wayne and Pittsburgh:Sophia Robison: Dan, taking a quick look at your new Engage Fort Wayne website, it looks like you have a lot on the page, from roads and bridges to playgrounds and more. Tell me a little bit about why and how Fort Wayne decided to launch a new dedicated engagement platform. Dan Baisden: Each year, the City of Fort Wayne (pop. 267,436) invests millions in its neighborhoods through improving streets, sidewalks, parks, and community development projects. These investments, which continue to move the City forward, often need to be understood in the larger context of the city’s entire annual investment. We looked at other cities for best practice cases and found a thorough undertaking in Pittsburgh. After several months of research by our Neighborhood Planning and Activation Workgroup, we began working with Social Pinpoint to model Engage Fort Wayne after Pittsburgh’s successful EngagePGH platform. Here’s the website link: engage.cityoffortwayne.org 
Engage Fort Wayne launched in February 2024 and features several key accessibility features including the UserWay widget, which ensures inclusive engagement on City projects and programs
Sophia: Audrey and Laura, EngagePGH has been online for a few years, can you tell me a bit about why and how this page launched?
Audrey Wells, and Laura Tsutsui: The City of Pittsburgh’s EngagePGH website, built from Social Pinpoint’s engagement software, has been active since 2020 when the pandemic forced many activities to halt or take place online. The City of Pittsburgh was just beginning to engage residents around the development of The Oakland Plan which would guide the development of Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood for the next ten years. Since then, EngagePGH has come to be used across nearly every city department to inform and collaborate with residents on many plans and projects. Here’s the website link: engage.pittsburghpa.gov 
EngagePGH launched in 2020 as a City Planning effort to continue engagement efforts on neighborhood plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. In four years, it’s grown into a citywide initiative that has engaged over 20,000 people on projects spanning from planning to mobility, public works, and more.
Sophia: Dan, tell me about your launch of Engage Fort Wayne
Dan: Fort Wayne is Indiana’s second-largest city and has been ranked among the fastest-growing metros in the Great Lakes region for the past couple of years. With millions invested each year in neighborhoods and infrastucture projects (roads, bridges, parks, etc.); Engage Fort Wayne was a natural extension of Mayor Henry’s goals for our community. This new platform not only allows us to improve communication on projects that are funded and underway, but also to seek community input on projects that are still being designed. We launched Engage Fort Wayne with projects and programs led by Community Development, Public Works, and Parks & Recreation. We plan to continue building the platform through the remainder of 2024. Ultimately, we would like to see over 100,000 people visiting the site to learn about 250 projects by the end of the year. Sophia: The EngagePGH engagement platform has been live since 2020 (almost four years!), and you’ve had various styles of staff management during that time. How has the site administration evolved during that time?
Audrey and Laura: EngagePGH began to keep public engagement alive through the COVID-19 pandemic. It started with one site administrator responsible for the creation and approval of all pages – a feasible solution for a tool being utilized by one City Department. However, as the platform grew, our management of it had to grow as well. We identified team leaders who could create and approve pages within a specific scope of work (city planning, mobility, public works, etc.). This approach not only built capacity for the site administrator but also ensured that projects were being reviewed by colleagues with appropriate expertise.One constant since we launched the platform has been the expectation that project managers update the content on their pages. We currently have 81 site users across the city who are managing updates to their pages. Our Digital Engagement Coordinator is in the process of building out page standards that will set expectations for a consistent frequency of updates.
Mayor Ed Gainey and representatives from the City of Pittsburgh accept the International Association on Public Participation’s (IAP2) 2023 Core Values Award for Organization of the Year in March 2024.
Sophia: You recently won a major award for your work on EngagePGH, being honored as Organization of the Year by the International Association for Public Participation. How are you using the digital engagement platform to create a culture of expectation for public engagement and transparent consultation?
Audrey and Laura: We look at the spectrum of engagement like a pyramid of styles that build on one another with the ideal goal of empowering residents to make decisions on projects that impact them. Through that lens, the foundational piece of any meaningful engagement is informing the public about our project work and EngagePGH is a critical piece of keeping our residents informed. Many city communications – from press releases and social media to flyers and more – direct residents to the platform. This is important because it not only gives them information about the projects they’re focused on, it also has the cascading effect of exposing residents to other projects happening around them. Conclusion:Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne’s experiences highlight how digital engagement platforms are revolutionizing the way that community members can inform local decision-making and engage regularly in the democratic process. They teach us to stay flexible and innovative, involve the community, and keep the conversation going. These platforms aren’t just about transparency; they’re about giving everyone a seat at the table and challenging the typical model of a “public comment” process. EngagePGH and Engage Fort Wayne offer an approach to public participation that makes government more open, accessible, inclusive, and - maybe most importantly - more trustworthy. We should be constantly challenging ourselves to embrace opportunities with technology to build stronger, more involved communities where everyone has a say in shaping their cities. Author Bio’s
Sophia Robison: Sophia is the Head of Practice for Social Pinpoint’s North American team. In this role, she supports and builds a community of best practices in public engagement within the public and non-profit sectors, particularly as it relates to the use of digital technology. Previously, Sophia worked in local government with the City of Pittsburgh's Department of City Planning and as an Economic Development Specialist for the Town of Brookline, MA.Audrey Wells: Audrey Wells serves as the Digital Communications Specialist for the City of Pittsburgh and Mayor Ed Gainey. In this role, she collaborates with various city departments to effectively disseminate information to the public. Overseeing the EngagePGH digital engagement platform, Audrey has facilitated more than 100 public projects through digital and hybrid engagements. Before their current role, Audrey worked at Explore Asheville (NC) and earned a degree in Journalism and Political Science from UNC-Chapel Hill.Laura Tsutsui: Laura Tsutsui serves as the Digital Engagement Coordinator in the City of Pittsburgh's Office of the Mayor. Her previous experience lies in audio news, content creation and podcast editing. previously, Laura worked at the NPR affiliate stations in Pittsburgh and in Fresno, California. Laura is a mentor and former reporter with NPR's Next Generation Radio.Dan Baisden: Dan Baisden is a Community Development Administrator with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and serves as the past chair for CNU Midwest. Before his current position, Dan spent several years in neighborhood planning, public art management and economic development. Dan has degrees in Urban Planning and Sociology from Arizona State University and a Masters in Community Development from Pennsylvania State University