Public Information

The idea thus presents itself to notify the city press and public information department right at the outset, and to draw up a joint public information strategy. Proceeding in this way may also help in drawing up items of information which are understandable for non-experts too. In order to provide public information, various methods and combinations can be used:

All information about the project as well as associated themes or topics need to be available on the city website. Updates on the project should be documented as well. Dates of public participation meetings as well as minutes or reports of meetings should be posted.

Very often interested people find they have to 'click' through any number of other pages, in order to arrive at the information they are looking for. Attention should therefore be directed towards ensuring that the information is easy to find understand. Information should always be up-to-date, and the date and time of individual items of information and postings are stated.

The internet is the simplest and least expensive method for informing the public. However, in particular for social area projects, it has considerable limitations in many countries. It is precisely the principal target groups for projects of this kind who frequently do not have internet access, cannot read, or do not speak the official language of the country. Public access (multi-lingual) internet terminals may help in this respect. However, this is not sufficient as the only public information method and moreover presumes that the required infrastructure is available.

If this is the case, then the internet and public access terminals offer advantages during the later progress of the project in giving up-to-date information, in participation procedures and possible further training measures (e.g. for voluntary workers).

Mobile phones are increasingly being used for information and service delivery, too. In many countries the proportion of people owning a mobile phone is significantly greater than those with internet access. However, this technology is more limited compared to the internet as far as scope, size, depth and presentation of information are concerned.

At the outset of a project all the essential information can be presented in a summarized form in a brochure or a leaflet. Depending on the (physical) scope or size of the project, an information document of this kind can be distributed to all households, or put out for people to take away at particularly frequently visited places in the city.

In principle, the content of information documents of this kind closely resembles information which is being made available on the internet. However, as a general rule it needs to be briefer. In common with the internet, written information may possibly not reach all the members of the target groups.

In meetings or events open to the public, information can be provided about the initial situation, the objectives, and how the project is to progress in future. Meetings of this kind are in particular suitable for projects with manageable physical or population size. In the case of larger projects meetings can be held in physical sub-sections.

This general type of gathering can also be used as an instrument during the decision phase of a project. However, the danger is that in completely open meetings such as these, specific groups and interests can be over-represented. For this reason, generally speaking in preparing the background for a decision or for making a decision itself on the whole more specific forms of meetings are used.

The venue for the meeting should be selected carefully, so that those who want to take part are deterred as little as possible. In particular for projects where initially it can be anticipated that quite major conflicts may emerge in discussions, often a 'neutral' location is more suitable than for example the city hall. Schools, community centres, parish halls, or even sport centres may for example be considered.

In the same vein, it may be a good idea not to have members of the municipal administration heading a meeting, but to have someone well-known who is not from public administration. This applies in particular to meetings or gatherings for the purpose of decision making.

An information meeting or event of this kind should be very well planned, notice should be given at an early stage (for example by means of posters and in the local media), and any use of specialized vocabulary or terminology should be avoided. In any case, the outcomes or results need to be documented and made available to a wider public.

Another possible way to provide information about a project is to portray the project, its objectives, and possible measures as an exhibition or posters. It can be planned as a travelling exhibition. This should be displayed where local inhabitants get together and meet as a matter of course (a shopping centre, post office, city hall, public library etc.). Local fairs, sporting and other events also present good opportunities.

As is the case with other written information methods, consideration must be given as to which sections of the target groups can be reached in this way.

For purposes of public information it is absolutely essential to include local media, whether this is local print media, local television, or radio broadcasters. Media has an important part to play in forming public opinion and raising awareness. However, in local media organization there are seldom experts who have addressed the subject matter of the project in an intensive way. For this reason, the journalists in question need to be informed right at the outset about the substance and objectives and regularly supplied with current announcements and items of information.