Portland Courant

PEP Listening Sessions Now Open!

The last time our City created a fresh framework for civic engagement was 1974. In 2023, we’re still using that framework. Sometimes it works. Too often, it doesn’t. Despite our best efforts, many Portlanders face barriers that stop them from engaging with their government.

Our city has changed over the past 50 years and it will keep evolving. The Portland Engagement Project (PEP) is the opportunity for all Portlanders to work with the City to design a more equitable community engagement model to solve issues today and into the future.

Civic Life brought in Pregame, an independent consultant group, to lead the public PEP listening sessions and hear from you!

1. Join alistening session. Learn more about PEP, the project timeline, and how Pregame created this process to help Portland design an engagement model that works for us. All Portlanders are invited to attend or host a listening session. Pregame has scheduled more than 15 listening sessions from now to the end of April. Many of these sessions are co-hosted by neighborhood district offices and other community groups. 
2. Take a shortsurvey. Pregame has developed a5-minute survey available in multiple languages. It's a way to share your ideas on how our future engagement structure could work.
3. Host a Listening Session. Are you part of a religious community, book club, sports team, volunteer group, or other community group interested in this type of engagement? Ask Pregame to host a listening session.
4. Facilitate your own discussion! Are you part of a neighborhood association, community group, nonprofit or other civic-minded group that wants to discuss these ideas on your own? Pregame will be hosting a Do-It-Yourself training on Friday, March 3. A recording will be available after so groups can host discussions by themselves at a time that works for them. 

What is the result of my participation?

By building proactive engagement structures, the City, community-based organizations, neighborhood associations, and individual Portlanders can work together to prevent or reduce social vulnerability and livability issues and support our communities to thrive.

For more information on the listening sessions, visit Pregame’s PEP website

Original source can be found here.