Community Participation
Help people find meaningful ways to get involved, connect with others, and contribute to their community.
Why it Matters
Strong communities depend on more than one-time feedback. Making ongoing participation easier to find can help municipalities strengthen local connections, support community organizations, and create more opportunities for people to contribute their time, ideas, and experience.
Can people find opportunities to volunteer, join a committee or contribute to a community initiative?
When it's working well
Committees, volunteer roles and community projects are listed together. Each one states the time commitment, who can apply and how. Openings are kept current, and local groups can share their own initiatives.
Where to start
Create one "Get involved" page that lists committees, volunteer roles and current openings. For each, state the time commitment, who can apply and how to apply. Remove openings once they are filled.
If you don't have this yet
A listing of volunteer and committee openings with an online application can usually be added to your current website. Community groups can post their own initiatives to it, with staff approving each post.
Can local groups use the website to share their activities, keep their information up to date and connect with the municipality?
When it's working well
Local groups can submit events, update their directory listing and promote their initiatives through short online forms. Staff review submissions before they are published. Each form names a staff contact, and groups know how long a review usually takes.
Where to start
Create one "For community groups" page that links to event submission, listing updates and a staff contact. Use short online forms instead of email. Tell groups how long a review usually takes.
If you don't have this yet
Online forms for event submissions and listing updates, with staff approval before publishing, can usually be added to your current website. They can feed the same events calendar and directory residents already use, so information is entered once.
Ideas that help
Ways to Get Involved
APPROACH
Make it easier for people to discover opportunities to participate in community life.
Residents may want to volunteer, join a committee, support an event, or contribute to a local initiative, but those opportunities are often spread across different pages or organizations. Bringing them together can make participation easier to find and easier to understand.
Participation opportunities should:
Community-Led Initiatives
APPROACH
Support local ideas and projects that are shaped or driven by residents and community organizations.
Some of the strongest community initiatives begin outside municipal government. Clear digital spaces can help local groups share ideas, find partners, promote projects, and connect with municipal support when it is available.
Community-led initiatives should:
Related ideas
- Searchable Local Directory: help people quickly find local organizations, services, businesses, and community resources.
- Funding & Capacity Building: point community-led projects to grants, support and partners.
Also consider
- Content Ownership & Maintenance: keep website content current by making ownership, review, and maintenance part of the publishing process.
How well does your website work for residents?
Take the free check-up. In about 20 minutes you'll walk through everyday situations, like reporting a pothole or finding a council agenda, and get a plain-language check-up report of what's working and what to tackle first.