Engage Cincinnati- Cincinnati, OH

More from Cincinnati OH

Project at a Glance

  • Issue Area Community vision and values, Neighborhood improvement
  • Engagement Approaches Commissions/taskforces, Embedding a culture of engagement, Neighborhood events/ activities, Partnering with residents
Project Description

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Engage Cincinnati

Rationale:  

Successful local governments focus on community needs and how to balance those needs with government policy and the resources available. No government can have a truly meaningful impact without the involvement of its residents. 

 Project Summary: 

It all started in 2009 when the City of Cincinnati began the process of developing a new comprehensive community engagement plan. After hundreds of conversations with community members,Plan Cincinnati was completed in 2012. Among Plan Cincinnati’s listed goals was to create a welcoming civic atmosphere and build stronger communities by increasing civic engagement.  

To accomplish these goals, some 30 active resident volunteers, representing 29 neighborhood and civic organizations, came together to make Cincinnati extraordinary and move the city toward comprehensive community engagement. Together they produced “Strength in Unity – A Proposal to Create a Flourishing Citizen Engagement Culture in Cincinnati.” 

Cincinnati’s Engage Cincy emerged from this work and was charged with strengthening the culture of civic engagement in Cincinnati by providing opportunities for all to participate in meaningful and proactive ways in the City’s decision-making and problem-solving processes. In September 2014, this effort was formally recognized with the approval of a community engagement mission and vision statements.  Council later backed this motion by adopting community engagement policies and principles to guide the Administration in the practical application of community engagement in the day-to-day business of the City. 

Engagement Strategies:  

One outgrowth of Engage Cincy is the Engage Cincy Action Team (ECAT). This group of residents and City staff, serves as a formal liaison between the broader community and the city. One key ECAT effort has been formalizing a partnership with Invest in Neighborhoods, a local nonprofit that promotes and assists local community councils. Invest and the City have worked to enhance information sharing between community councils and on engagement trainings for residents. Other impacts from ECAT’s first year include:

  • Developing a Community Engagement Action Plan;
  • Overhauling the city’s budget engagement strategy; and
  • Establishing engagement trainings for city employees. 

Another critical component of Engage Cincy is the Challenge Grant program, which encourages residents to submit innovative engagement approaches and then receive funding to execute the idea. Through this competitive grant, the City seeks the most innovative, impactful and actionable ideas for improving positive engagement within our city. City of Cincinnati residents are encouraged to apply for a grant to help them successfully implement their community engagement project. The total cost for Year One of the program was $40,000 covering four grants, $10,000 each. The City has since grown the program to $50,000 covering five grants. 

These projects promote interaction between individuals and groups who might not typically interact and encourage neighbors to keep an eye out for each other. In three years, hundreds of ideas have been submitted and the 14 projects which received funding and City support collectively brought tens of thousands of Cincinnatians together in fun, positive, rewarding, and impactful new ways.  

One project: Cincinnati Neighborhood Games is a ‘field day’ for everyone; that promotes community pride, and brings people from different backgrounds together in an Olympic-like atmosphere. Each of Cincinnati’s 52 neighborhoods held qualifiers in events like Tug-of-war, big wheel races, trivia, giant Jenga, etc. Qualifying teams represented their neighborhood at the citywide Games which included opening ceremonies with neighborhood flag bearers, followed by city-wide competition, and presentation of 60 medals and the Neighborhood Cup.  

Outcomes: 

Engage Cincy led to the Challenge Grant program, which encourages residents to submit innovative engagement approaches and then receive funding to execute the idea. Through this competitive grant, the City seeks the most innovative, impactful and actionable ideas for improving positive engagement within our city. City of Cincinnati residents are encouraged to apply for a grant to help them successfully implement their community engagement project. The total cost for Year One of the program was $40,000 covering four grants, $10,000 each. The City has since grown the program to $50,000 covering five grants 

Engage Cincy Action Team (ECAT) came from this work. This group of residents and City staff, serves as a formal liaison between the broader community and the city.  One key ECAT effort has been formalizing a partnership with Invest in Neighborhoods, a local nonprofit that promotes and assists local community councils. Invest and the City have worked to enhance information sharing between community councils and on engagement trainings for residents. Other impacts from ECAT’s first year include: developing a Community Engagement Action Plan, overhauling the city’s budget engagement strategy; and establishing engagement trainings for city employees. 

Resources:
Engage Cincy- Challenge Grant
2018 Engage Cincy Winners
Local Contact:
Rocky Merz
Director of Communications, City of Cincinnati
801 Plum St., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202
Rocky.Merz@cincinnati-oh.gov
513-352-536

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