Our approach to community engagement

Local governments deliver services, offer choices, make decisions, and operate in ways that affect the daily lives of community members more than other levels of government. That's why the City of Prince George is committed to listening and considering resident feedback as part of the decision-making process. The City must balance public feedback with other factors including community need, budget, strategies and plans, legislation, operational and technical considerations, and staff expertise. Sometimes that means that the feedback the City receives is considered but not acted on if it is not the right fit based on other factors of the project. For example, budget constraints or provincial legislation may prevent the City from being able to act on certain requests from the public.

The contributions you make are always reviewed and shared with City Council and made publicly available. Your participation is appreciated and helps decision makers better understand the needs and values of the people living in Prince George.

Guiding principles

The City is committed to involving residents in the decision-making processes, whenever possible. When the City gathers feedback from the community, the community will always be informed about how the information they provided will be used.

Section four of the City's Council Communications Policy highlights its commitment to the International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) Core Values when considering public participation and engagement:

4.1 “Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a

right to be involved in the decision-making process.

4.2 Public participation includes the promise that the public's contribution will influence the

decision.

4.3 Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognizing and communicating the

needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.

4.4 Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by

or interested in a decision.

4.5 Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.

4.6 Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a

meaningful way.

4.7 Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision."

Spectrum of public participation

When the City determines that a project needs public input, staff consider engagement goals and look to the spectrum of public participation to determine the level of involvement from the public. The level of engagement can change over the course of a project, or between different groups.