“SHAPING SASKATOON”: NEW ONLINE TOOL ALLOWS CITIZENS TO ENGAGE WITH CITY
Starting today, citizens of Saskatoon have another way to provide feedback and ideas on the City of Saskatoon’s programs and initiatives.
Shaping Saskatoon is a new brand and online community engagement tool. It allows citizens to take part in discussions, online forums, or surveys from a home computer or any mobile device, at a time and place that is most convenient for them. The online tool will supplement the City’s existing community engagement tools which include public meetings, open houses, surveys, focus groups, and the City’s Facebook, Twitter and Blog pages.
“We believe there is tremendous value in conducting public engagement as it helps to inform decision-making and set policies,” says Catherine Gryba, General Manager of Corporate Performance. “Through the Saskatoon Speaks initiative, we learned that the citizens of Saskatoon want to be engaged in civic matters, and according to the 2013 Civic Services Survey, only 10% of participants said public meetings are their preferred source of information, so we felt there was a need to implement this new online tool that is easy to access and convenient to use.”
The online tool will be offered as a part of any engagement activity being conducted on City projects or initiative where public input would be helpful.
Citizens are invited to visit Shaping Saskatoon at any time to view projects and to participate in discussions, forums or surveys. Citizens must first sign in by providing a valid email address and password, as well as their first and last name.
A protocol for conducting online engagement has been developed which users can access through the site. The City of Saskatoon Privacy Policy also applies to any information shared on the site.
To access the site, click the Shaping Saskatoon icon on the home page of the City’s website (www.saskatoon.ca) or go to www.shapingsaskatoon.ca.
Engagement is currently taking place on the topic of Smart Meters, and citizens are invited to take part now!
For more City of Saskatoon Public Service Announcements, News Releases, Traffic Detours and Service Alerts, visit www.saskatoon.ca or connect with the City of Saskatoon on Twitter and Facebook.