New Engagement Task Force Seeking Representatives

The City of St. John’s is currently seeking representatives from citizens-at-large and organizational stakeholders to sit on a new task force to support the development of a public engagement framework. The Engage! St. John’s Task Force will begin its work in early April and finish its final report with recommendations in early summer 2014.
 
“The City of St. John’s wants to build a new approach to public engagement,” says Councillor Dave Lane, Co-chair, Economic Development, Tourism and Public Engagement Standing Committee, who will chair the new task force. “Our goal is to bring together the incredible energy, knowledge and experience of our residents to help guide how our city makes decisions and provides services.”
 
“Public engagement is about inviting everyday residents to be involved in dialogue and action on public issues they care about,” says Councillor Lane. “To help our City make decisions that include the input of its residents, we need an engagement framework – and we want to have residents involved in creating it.”
 
The Engage! St. John’s Task Force will be responsible for:

• Reviewing materials from other jurisdictions to better understand the public engagement process.
• Developing a proposed public engagement policy document with guiding principles for engagement for the City of St. John’s.
• Identifying effective engagement tools and approaches for consideration.
• Presenting a draft and final recommendations.

Individuals seeking information about the task force are encouraged to visit the City’s website, where the terms of reference and application form can be found. The deadline to apply is March 21, 2014 at 4 p.m.
 
  
For further information:
Jennifer Mills
Communication and Public Relations Officer
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 570-2037
Cell:  (709) 690-7586
E-mail: jmills@stjohns.ca
 
Dave Lane
Councillor at Large
Co-chair, Economic Development, Tourism and Public Engagement Standing Committee
City of St. John’s
Phone: (709) 576-8243
E-mail: dlane@stjohns.ca