Were better together. Confidential | Not for sharing Herdlr | - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

We’re better together.

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Change happens. It’s inevitable. Change will come to our communities. It may take the form of a locally unique challenge or it may be the effects

• f something larger, trickling down. Something we brought

upon ourselves or something unfairly levied.

“The inevitable is no less a shock just because it is inevitable.” — Jamaica Kincaid

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THE CONTEXT

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It may be change for the worse, bringing with it great struggle,

• r it could equally be change for the better, revealing tremendous

new opportunities.

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road…Unless you fail to make the turn.” — Helen Keller

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Whatever form it takes, the constant is this: The deeper our sense of local community, the stronger our connections, and the more robust our web of interdependent relationships, the better positioned we’ll be to take on change and manage it effectively.

“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.” — Jewish Proverb

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10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 People seeking assistance from family , friends, neighbors, and other social connections People seeking assistance from Federal and state government resources Percent Who Found Meaningful Help

“Resilience in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy,” The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. 2013.

Assistance Satisfaction Levels

Such relationships, the ones waiting for us just outside our door, have proven throughout history to be the most efficient and most satisfying — in times of both challenge and opportunity.

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“Civic Health and the Economy: Making the Connection,” National Conference on Citizenship, 2013.

Connections and Unemployment

They shape our economic fortunes, both personal and collective.

Volunteering is associated with an increased likelihood of finding employment for all volunteers, regardless of a person’s gender, age, ethnicity, geographical area, or job market conditions.

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They can even make the difference between life and death.

Herdlr | Overview Presentation | 06 10 20 30 40 Neighborhood with strong social infrastructure Adjacent and comparable neighborhood with weak social infrastructure Deaths per 100,000 Residents

“Neighborhood Connections Key To Surviving A Crisis,” Eric Klinenberg, professor of Sociology, NYU.

• NPR. January 3, 2013.

1995 Chicago Heat Wave Deaths

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What we call sense of community — something recognized and pursued, yet rarely experienced fully — is the root of resilience.

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“One core concept that has to be grasped is the rule that the community, not the individual, is the basic unit of human survival. History shows that local communities can flourish while empires fall around them.” — John Michael Greer, The Long Descent

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THE CHALLENGE However, this concept of resilience through relationship is out

• f sync with the present-day reality of community in America.

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We satisfy our needs through the purchase of goods and services.

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Health Security Child+Senior Care Food+Shelter Entertainment Environment

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We mandate zoning that segregates us by use and income, and wall ourselves off from our broader communities.

Herdlr | Overview Presentation | 10 1985 2009 Number (in Millions)

“Fortress America,” Blakely and Snyder, 1999; “America’s Most Exclusive Gated Communities,” Tanya Mohn, Forbes Magazine, July 3, 2012.

Households in Gated Communities

2001 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Confidential | Not for sharing

We pursue human connection through the weak ties of social media.

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“The extent to which people are connected to each

• ther is lower than what humans need.”

@Arun Sundararajan

Professor, NYU

“In some way, the vitality and connectedness of

• ur communities will determine the strength of
• ur democracy.”

@Peter Block

Author, Community: The Structure of Belonging

We grow apart, becoming ever more distrustful of one another. Our ability to work together diminishes.

Herdlr | Overview Presentation | 12 1964 2013 Percentage Agreed

“Trends in Public Opinion,” Niemi, Mueller and Smith, 1989; “General Social Survey,” National Opinion Research Center, 2013.

“Most people can be trusted. ”

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We look to government and non-profits to fix collective problems, straining their limited resources while further removing ourselves from the realities at hand.

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“One major reason for the deactivation of our neighborhoods is that institutions often take on as their own purpose what right- fully belongs in the hands of local citizens. Institutions adopt the language of community building but, too often, despite good intent, they encourage dependency and reduce the power of local communities.” — John McKnight and Peter Block, The Abundant Community

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We want to help, but the only thing we feel qualified to do is identify and report things that need to be done.

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But what if there were a way to convert our recognition of need into meaningful civic action and, in the process, build a stronger, more resilient community over time?

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Look around where you live. It shouldn’t take long to see something that needs doing, helping, cleaning, fixing, improving, sprucing or planting. Something you wish someone would take care of.

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What if there were a mechanism to share these universally experienced observations, and turn them into something?

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I wish someone would

I wish someone would

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clean up the trash along Main Street.

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I wish someone would

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help elderly neighbors with yard work.

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I wish someone would

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turn the old church on 2nd Avenue into a community center.

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Herdlr | Overview Presentation | 23 Confidential | Not for sharing Herdlr working homepage design | Generic municipality

And what if doing so helped you understand that maybe the someone you’re wishing for is you? Or that maybe there are

• ther people in your community — people you could join —

concerned about the same thing?

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Herdlr | Overview Presentation | 25 Confidential | Not for sharing Herdlr speculative search results | Generic municipality

Herdlr combines civic spirit with shared interest to create meaningful community improvement — building deeper trust and long-term social capital with each new transaction.

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Short-term You Others concerned about the same issue

+

Long-term New connections Small, incremental improvements New relationships Deeper trust Increased social capital A more beautiful + resilient community

Users share their wishes, connect with others of like mind, head up tasks, or join similar tasks already in the works. Herdlr provides all the tools you need to promote, organize, manage and complete tasks that simply need doing. It doesn’t create the will to contribute. Or the sense

• f belonging that compels people to care for their
• communities. That already exists in all of us.

Herdlr just provides a better way to get things done.

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Basic mechanics, geared for a quick path to solvency.

Rolled out in each city or town via promotional education campaign together with select, early adoption launch group comprised of community influencers Accessed through municipal website or via location-specific mobile app Municipal client base Operated on a subscription model Tasks are

• pened, promoted

and closed by Project Champions Governments gain insight into community priorities Herdlrs gain recognition for civic contributions

Cultivating an unserved niche in the Civic Tech landscape.

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You Government Fellow Citizens

Connecting with

Improve service delivery Influence, advocate and participate Share goods and services Collaborate and share information Raise money Take ownership of civic improvement

Distilled and summarized from “The Emergence

• f Civic Tech: Investments in a Growing Field,”

The Knight Foundation, 2013.

In order to

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Designed to deliver both social and economic returns.

City leadership can gauge community priorities through the ideas and initiatives that bubble up and get done. Herdlr pays for itself when, in a town of 25,000, just 2% of the population donates a single hour of their time over the course of a year. Everything beyond that is accrued, quantifiable civic value.

Decatur, Georgia, added up the value of their community volunteering. Over the course of roughly eight city-sponsored events, volunteers contribute 13,000+ man-

• hours. Hours which, if gauged according

to the skills employed, translate to over a quarter million dollars in value. Each year.

A t

• l

f

• r

i m p r

• v

i n g c i v i c p a r t i c i p a t i

• n

m e t r i c s .

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From “Civic Life in America: Austin, Texas,” National Conference on Citizenship, 2011.

Herdlr is a tool that facilitates volunteering Herdlr is organized around fixing community problems

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We shouldn’t have to look to institutions to solve every problem. Or pull out our checkbooks for every task at hand. Historically, much of what needed to be done was done by citizens simply rolling up their sleeves and working together. It could be that way again. Herdlr can help.

“Communal transformation occurs when people get connected to those who were previously strangers, and when we invite people into conversations that ask them to act as creators or

• wners of community.”

— Peter Block, Community: The Structure of Belonging

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THE TEAM

For ten years, Scott Doyon — a partner with the North American planning and community development firm, PlaceMakers — has worked to bring greater clarity, and greater transparency, to public process. Over the course of these efforts, in communities big and small, he’s noticed a recurring phenomenon: rarely do such collaborative endeavors fail for a lack of good ideas. Or an absense of champions. More often than not, such endeavors stumble on their way towards implemen- tation because residents have little sense of shared interest, limited trust, and no meaningful degree of connection with those around them. This proves a challenge that outreach and engagement, no matter how well orchestrated, cannot fully overcome. How, he’s wondered, can we restore the connectedness and trust that makes shared decision-making possible?

Scott Doyon

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Scott Doyon

An abriged history

Preceded his 10+ years in placemaking with a decade-long career at global advertising power- house, J Walter Thompson, where he learned the fine art of branding from the firm that literally invented it — working on and eventually leading communications efforts (B2B, B2E) for a variety

• f notable brands.

Recognized in 2003 the need to combine strategic communications with online tools to make public engagement more transparent and accessible. Developed the iCharrette, PlaceMakers’ online public process storytelling platform, which he’s continued to refine and enhance in the years since. A key- stone in the firm’s outreach and engagement efforts, it sets a new standard for how the consulting industry, working with municipal officials, can engage citizens, power beyond cynicism, and contribute towards the meaningful development of trust. It’s since been deployed as part of public process initiatives in 35 communities across North America. Conceived of Herdlr during the long car ride back from a particularly divisive public workshop comprised of two deeply entrenched factions with little trust between them. Editor of PlaceMakers’ popular Placeshakers and Newsmakers blog, which features a weekly, in- depth perspective piece on community-related issues. His essays can be accessed directly at www.scottdoyon.com. A 12-year member of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Degreed in Mass Communications from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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THE TEAM

As both municipal Planning Director and professional dancer/choreographer, Amanda Thompson has spent the past decade giving structure to the formless. In doing so, she’s noticed a persistent truth: community engagement thrives when government builds the tangible and intangible infrastructure that allows residents to connect with and care for each other — and then gets

• ut of the way. Even the wealthiest governments can’t

be a single source service provider. It takes a thought- fully constructed web of relationships, the ability to translate across professions, a willingness to listen deeply, and an embrace of innovation to implement a shared vision. All infrastructure, she’s found, whether

• n the ground or in the cloud, must reflect — even

prioritize — the goal of human connection.

Amanda Thompson

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Amanda Thompson

An abriged history

Has a BA from Agnes Scott College and an MPA from Georgia State University. Served as project manager on Decatur, Georgia’s Community Transportation Plan. It was the first plan in North America to utilize a Health Impact Assessment and recognized the role that streets and their related infrastructure play in shaping the character of a community and the health of its residents. The plan recommendations are 60% funded for implementation. Co-designed the community engagement processes for the 2010 Decatur Strategic Plan which had 1,500 participants. Staffed the Zoning Task Force created to implement portions of the Strategic Plan resulting in the adoption of new zoning ordinances allowing shared parking, accessory dwelling units, and residential developments in commercial areas by right. Selected as a Creative Community Fellow by National Arts Strategies, 2014. Is a member of Leadership ICMA 2010 and Leadership DeKalb 2011. Serves the regional and national planning community on advisory committees for ICMA, the Centers for Disease Control and the Atlanta Regional Commission. Has spoken at numerous national planning conferences on the topics of building healthy communities, citizen engagement and plan implementation, including keynote addresses for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the CDC. Evaluated Montgomery, Ohio’s civic engagement programs and published an article for ICMA on the results.

Advisors — These people enrich our efforts with the gift of their insights and perspective.

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Rebecca Ryan Economist, Futurist, Humorist Author, ReGeneration: A Manifesto for America’s Next Leaders Charles Marohn, , Jr. PE AICP President, Strong Towns Author, Thoughts on Building Strong Towns David Carlson Engineer, Square Former Engineer, Google Karen Thoreson President and COO Alliance for Innovation Kaid Benfield Special Counsel for Urban Solutions, NRDC Author, People Habitat

• Dr. William Waugh, Jr.

Professor, Ga. State Univ. Author, Living with Hazards, Dealing with Disasters: An Introduction to Disaster Management Cheryl Hilvert Director, Center for Management Strategies, ICMA: Int’l City/County Management Association

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A simplified flowchart of our ambitions:

Citizens should be empowered to not just see problems, but to solve them. And not just for the immediate value of accomplishment but for the far greater value that follows: a richer, more sat- isfying, more resilient network of community ties built through the process of shared endeavor.

Develop relationship(s) with benefactor organization(s) Finalize nonprofit status Establish funding commitment(s) Secure funding Application build-out: minimally viable product Marketing, PR and Sales strategy Establish beta partners Activate municipal relationships Initial launch

Mission Context

Partner, user, client and prospect feedback Application revision and evolution

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We believe Herdlr could make a valuable contribution towards the Knight Foundation’s civic innovation and engagement mission and deeply appreciate your time and consideration. We look forward to the prospect of discussing our intersecting goals in greater detail. Is further conversation warranted? Scott Doyon (404) 372-5394 | scott@placemakers.com