Engagement or communication?
Determine whether a project requires public engagement or public communication before anything goes public.
Updated August 28, 2026 at 1:59 PM PDT
Before anything else, one question determines everything that follows
Can public input meaningfully influence the outcome?
Yes — this is engagement
Community input can shape what happens. Proceed through the seven required steps in order.
No — this is communication
The outcome is fixed. Your job is to communicate clearly, answer questions honestly, and meet your noticing requirements. Clear, accessible public communication is its own discipline — use the Strategic Communications Plan as your guide.
Before outreach begins, every public-facing material must state whether the decision is open to community input and why or why not. Sample Influence Statements for both scenarios are in the Five Levels of Engagement section of this Plan. If it's not open to input, say so.
The decision framework: two more questions
1. Who makes the final decision?
Name them — staff, Board, County Executive. Community members deserve to know who holds final authority before they invest their time.
2. What is actually open to input?
Be specific about what's open to input. "Everything" is rarely true and communities know it. If the scope of public influence changes, update your Influence Statement and tell participants immediately.
Pre-engagement vs. formal engagement
| Pre-engagement | Formal engagement | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Learn enough to design a credible, inclusive public process | Collect public input to inform a decision or recommendation |
| What it looks like | Early conversations, listening, relationship-building, internal coordination, community landscape work | Public-facing meetings, surveys, workshops, interviews, advisory or focus groups, listening sessions |
| Who is involved | Internal staff, trusted partners | Community members, staff |
| Triggers 7-step process? | No, not by itself | Yes |
| Formal public commitments? | No — staff are learning how to design the process, not asking people to shape the outcome yet | Yes — staff are asking for input that may influence the outcome |
| Key output | Community landscape, internal alignment, draft Influence Statement, recommended engagement approach | Completed engagement tools, What We Heard Report, decision-maker briefing, closed loop with participants |
If community members are shaping a decision in any setting, even an informal one, you've entered formal engagement territory. Treat it accordingly.
Never skip pre-engagement entirely — the conversations you have before going public are what make the formal process credible. If you don't know enough about the community to design a process that reaches them, start there.