Community Engagement and Consultation

Monday, July 6, 20153:45 – 5:00

A comprehensive consultation process allows community members with ideas and concerns to be heard, and even if community members don’t ultimately agree with the decisions that are made, they have the benefit of understanding the process of getting there, and the tradeoffs that were weighed. - Artscape

Greg Bester Manager , Idea Exchange Cambridge

Elaine Bird Director of Support Services, Pickering Public Library

Ellen Hobin Manager, Communications, London Public Library.

Municipal Consultation and Community Engagement for Project

Design 2007

A Dynamic Future Built on the Foundations of the Past

• Cambridge is proud of its heritage

• Population cares about the treatment of its historic buildings.

Reflecting The Community By Day

Designing a Library for Community Engagement2010-2015

FACILITIES SURVEY 2013

• 40,000 active members: 60% are adults, 9% are teens, 21% are children, 6% are reciprocal/non-resident; 1.5% are babies.

• There were 788, 233 in-person visits in 2013.

• Between 2009 and 2013, overall program attendance increased by 32%.

• In 2014, attendance at Children’s programs was 41,808.

• Impact on community: “I read my first novel.” (from a child in the Summer Reading Club)

Post Office Project

The city purchased the old post office in 2012

The intention was to restore the building as public space, a new library

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTWhat Does Cambridge Mean To You? 2014-15

Nine Themes Emerged From the City’s Strategic Planning Focus Groups

•Community•Rivers•Arts, Culture and Tourism•Heritage & Architecture•Parks & Recreation•Government Structures•Transportation & Infrastructure•Location•Economic Development & Core Areas

PUBLIC MEETINGS 2013-2015

•Design Steering Committee Meetings

•Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee Meetings

•Council Meetings

•Design was adjusted in response to public input

DESIGN CHANGES RESPONDING TO PUBLIC COMMENTS

The adjusted design reveals more heritage elements of the building and reduces the glass cantilever volume.

• January 2014: Music hub opens at Clemens Mill. Over 700 bookings in the first year.

• Rock Out S’cool: Free music instruction for youth in the music hub in partnership with Queen Street Music; fully registered each session.

• January – March 2015: Music Is My Weapon: A FREE 10 week program designed to take your skills to the next level, run by industry professionals. You’ll develop your song writing skills and learn to arrange and record tracks. Filled with a waiting list. Music Hub, Idea Exchange, Clemens

Mill

GETTING READY FOR THE POST OFFICE

TEEN SPACE 000 LEVEL

Join the UnBook Club and share the love of reading with new friends over a cup of coffee.

Connect with colleagues and do business in a welcoming atmosphere.

A READING ROOM & COMMUNITY SPACE

100 LEVEL

Interactive PC Table

LEGO Wall Art Installation at Idea Exchange

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTRE200 LEVEL

• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) activities expand learning and technology horizons for children.

• With close proximity to the bus terminal and a FREE ride on the GRT for school classes, the Post Office will be a sought after destination for students to experience hands-on curriculum-based activities in a fun environment.

Children’s Discovery Centre 200 levelSTEM – Sensory Tools

• Large Building Blocks

• Magformer Super Sets

• Stick-lets Large Sets

• Magnet Wall & Marble Run

• Stacking Puzzle Sculpture Pieces

Children’s Discovery Centre 200 levelSTEM – Engineering Tools

• Green roof + the river + LEED building = Curriculum focused school visits

• Double class visits: indoor/outdoor instruction

• Race those robots!• Enjoy the view

TERRACE ON THE 200 LEVELFlexible Design

MAKER SPACE: A COLLABORATION STUDIO

• Laser Cutter• Soldering Station• Tool crib

NASA makes a wrench on the International Space Station using a 3D printer

Hexflex, a screwdriver, wrench, box cutter and bottle opener. Developed in library maker space.

300 LEVEL

Derby was born with deformations in both of his front legs, making movement difficult. Now, he can run on 3D Printed legs!

• Sewing machines• App development

Back To the Rivers

• Community Maker Space• Digital Lab• Children’s Discovery Centre• Reading Room• Technology Hub• Performance space• Restaurant• Community Classroom

LIKE NOTHING YOU’VE EVER IMAGINED...

Community Engagement and ConsultationAt Pickering Public LibraryElaine Bird

Background• Pickering – the City and the Library

• 2010 Facility Plan

• 2011 Central Library Renovation and Expansion Study

• First major experience with Community Engagement

Why did we choose to include a Community Engagement Piece to the project?

We hoped to:

• Create support for the project

• Share current building issues and possible solutions

• Engage the community in a discussion about the library

Renovation and Expansion Study

Four phases:

1.Factors affecting design and development of Central Library

2.Gather input from stakeholders

3.Evaluate options and identify costs

4.Final recommendations

Focus of Community Engagement activities

“Rather than duplicate this input [from the Facilities Study] by asking stakeholders for their opinion on the existing facility, the consultation program for this study focused on emerging trends and opportunities to be reflected in a Central Library to serve the next generation of users.”

Stakeholder ConsultationTwo parts:

1.Key Informant Interviews –• Senior municipal staff, • Senior Library staff, • Board members • Elected officials

2.Focus Groups – (6 in total) • Community Representatives• Library Board• Library Staff

Key Informant InterviewsInterviewed:

Mayor, City CAO, Councillors, Director of Culture and Recreation, Treasurer, Library Board Chair, Library CEO.

Themes that emerged:

•Stronger connection needed between Civic Centre and Library

•Ideas that were widely supported: sustainability, place-making, designed to high standard, improved entrance.

•Joint programming in a shared City/Library Space

•New specialized areas needed.

Stakeholder workshopsFocus groups:

Cultural groups, business and technology sector, social agencies, library clients, board members, staff.

Themes that were discussed:

•Library’s relationships to Civic Centre and Outdoor Open Space

•Accommodating the Library use – social and interactive space

•Partnerships and complementary uses

•Making a difference – priority features of an expanded Central Library

Outcomes of our Community Engagement process• Support from

Municipal Staff

• Support and excitement from staff and Board members

• Support from key community organizations

Central Library Expansion and Renovation StudyFour major design features:•New main entrance needed•Take advantage of the park space when designing expansion•Improve connection to Civic Center•Library as community space

What we learned• Successful element of the Expansion

study project• Strategic Plan 2014 included more

community engagement activities• Reality check – expectation and

excitement created

The Future• Next step in Central

Library expansion process

Contact Information

Elaine BirdDirector of Support ServicesPickering Public Library

elaineb@picnet.org905-831-6265 ext. 6231www.picnet.org

Empathy Mapping

Empathy Maps• Developed by Scott Matthews of XPLANE

• Helps to quickly focus a team’s attention on the people involved in a project (the end user).

• Quickly gets a team to focus on PEOPLE (the most important element of innovation).

• Asks a team to describe (from this person’s point of view) what this person’s experience is.

• Asks a team to consider the many forces around a person that might impact their experiences.

• GOAL: to create a degree of empathy for the person with the team.

• Once created, teams check their ideas against the Empathy Map:

“What would X think about this change?”

Stakeholders• Member of local built heritage community with interest in preservation

• Library traditionalist with interest in maintaining things as is (i.e. It is all about the books.)

• Elected official or member of municipal council

• Community Partner (offers services or programs with you)

• Immediate neighbour of the building project

• Taxpayer concerned about responsible spending and increased taxes

• Member of an agency serving the socially vulnerable

• Member of the local arts community with interest in public art

• Member of local chamber of commerce or business association

• Member of an accessibility advisory committee

• Local government or municipal staff member

Our Exercise• You have a stakeholder identified on your

worksheet

• Ask your team to describe, from this person’s point of view, what this person is seeing, saying . . .

• Ask the group to synthesize:• What was this person trying to achieve• What do they need to achieve this?• What made it difficult to achieve this?

• Identify what single change would make the biggest impact, or “What can we do for this person?”

What can you do with this?• What change is needed?

• What is our consensus?

• What are we committed to do?