The community engagement team undertook interviews, round tables and work groups to create the new Quality of Life PLan.  In addition to the over 200 action items identified, residents of the near Eastside identified a few necessary structural changes in the Quality of Life Planning process. Throughout these engagement processes, neighbors expressed interest not only in specific action items, but also in  increased transparency from the organizations and leaders in their neighborhood and more tangible opportunities for neighborhood leadership in the community development process. 

In response, we have collectively created a few new mechanisms for transparency and engagement. Informed by the interviews, focus groups, work groups and conversations with folks that participated in this process, we are excited to share the following changes to the Quality of Life Planning process.

  1. Creation of Community Action Teams:
    Community Action Teams will be groups of neighbors who work together with implementing partners to move the activities in the Quality of Life Plan forward. Community action teams will do this by keeping the lead agencies and implementation partners accountable to their commitments, providing input and feedback on the implementation of various action items, and undertaking their own projects related to the plan.From the new Quality of Life Plan: “The near Eastside Quality of Life Plan will be managed by nine Community Action Teams, who will work with an individual lead agency and a variety of implementation partners. The Community Action Teams will ensure that neighborhood voices are heard throughout the implementation of the plan and that neighborhood leaders continue to pursue increased equity in the implementation of the plan. The teams will also provide expertise and neighborhood thought leadership on their respective focus areas.”

    Community action teams will be the point of access to making changes to the plan. For an individual or group to make changes to the Quality of Life Plan, they will first present their idea to the Community Action Team. The community action team can support the idea or recommend changes to the idea. Once the group or individual has the community action team’s support, they can present their idea to the entire neighborhood summit. Now, rather than presenting directly to the summit, any organization, individual, or group who wants to make changes to the plan will meet with the Community Action Team first. This mechanism for decision making allows for increased equity and neighborhood leadership in the planning process.

  2. Creation of a Quality of Life Plan benchmark dashboard:
    In order to track the Quality of Life Plan, the community engagement staff will compile a quarterly report of any actions taken related to the plan. “Actions” will be measured through four benchmarks:

    1. Engage Residents & Community Partners: Residents and partners will be engaged to identify wants, needs, goals, and desired outcomes. Residents and partners will also be engaged to access relevant expertise and resources.
    2. Assess & Plan: For each action item, the relevant group will assess current conditions as necessary and develop a collaborative plan to achieve the goal.
    3. Gather Resources: The relevant group will gather funding and any other resources necessary to implement the action item.
    4. Implementation: After these steps are complete, the relevant group will Implement the collaborative plan & report on their progress. 

Every quarter, implementation partners will share which portion of the implementation process they are in, along with any details about their recent activities. Some action items will move through this process quickly and be completed in the next few years, while others may take multiple years to begin gathering resources. 

The report will be published on the Quality of Life Plan website each quarter. By making this information available to all neighbors, the community can more effectively engage with organizations about their projects by asking questions, providing support, and making their voices heard.