Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 21
Building Relationships and Your Agency’s
Reputation in the Community
Before a jurisdiction can embark on goal setting, it needs to ensure that it has
a strong relationship with its residents, businesses, and workers. By taking the
time to build relationships with a foundation of trust and accountability, your
jurisdiction will improve its capacity for efective community outreach and
engagement, which is essential in setting goals and creating strategies.
Trust is goal number one. Many government entities interact directly
with the public at large and can generate a sense of trust based on a
first impression, especially with new arrivals or historically marginalized
community members. A public meeting provides an opportunity to connect
with community members in a setting where their input is welcome and their
voices are heard. When engaging populations that distrust or lack confidence
in government, it is ofen helpful to identify one or more trusted community
leaders who can facilitate mutually respectful discussions and build
connections between the agency and community members. While a positive
first impression starts a community representative of on the right foot,
continued communication, follow-through, and partnership will build upon
it. To foster authentic engagement and participation with the community, the
local government must be a trusted partner with a history of delivering results.
If your local government does not have a good reputation in place, then the
repair work must begin immediately.
Figure 2.1. Principles of SMART Goals
S
M
A
R
T
SPECIFIC
What is your goal?
MEASURABLE
How much?
ATTAINABLE
How are you going to get there?
REALISTIC
What is your goal?
TIME-BASED
What is your goal?
Source: SMART Goals - Time Management
Training From MindTools.com
Credibility enables local governments to carry out their missions. The best emergency response happens long before
emergencies occur by building trust with your residents and community members. When the public negatively perceives
an organization’s character or results, it poses a risk to the reputation and efectiveness of the organization. Clarity and
transparency are important components of public information campaigns, but good communications alone cannot protect
credibility — this begins with maintaining stakeholders’ trust, fulfilling promises, and adhering to strong ethical principles.
Managing risks to a local government’s credibility involves using:
• Self-assessments of policies and programs and how they are perceived;
• Engagement and honest communications with the public and stakeholders through multiple channels, including social
media monitoring;
• Social responsibility as a policy, not a photo opportunity;
• Accountability for individuals within the organization at all levels; and
• Sound, transparent governance policies and leadership.
Relationship building and marketing are not just for businesses. Mono County Tourism Executive Director Jef Simpson
said, “Everybody knows that businesses ofen rely on marketing, but few consider that the government (at just about any level)
needs to market itself, too. As the public’s reaction to the recent government shutdown illustrates, the public doesn’t always
have the highest opinion of its elected oficials. Good government marketing can really help keep the relationship between a
government entity and its local constituents peaceful.”
Make your good work known. Government entities are most efective when they actively participate in the communities
that they serve. The ability to efectively communicate with the public makes it much easier for the local government to share
key information. When a governmental entity has successfully completed a public project, good communication is essential to
getting the word out.
Be Strategic: Clearly Define Your Economic Goals, Before and After a Disaster
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