| World café | A simple, large-group dialogue technique that can be used for engaging stakeholders in face-to-face discussion. |
| Public opinion survey or poll | A method of collecting information about the opinions of a group of people with the intention of generalizing the results to a larger population. |
| Focus group | A small discussion group led by a trained moderator to learn about the issues, concerns, and reactions of a particular group of stakeholders to a topic or proposal. |
| Field Trip | A field trip takes interested stakeholders to physical locations. |
| Delphi method | An iterative survey method used to uncover the range of opinions or build agreement among a group of experts without the need for face-face meetings. |
| Citizen advisory board | A group of stakeholders, often representing a particular community, convened to provide comments on a particular issue or project. |
| Workshops | A task-oriented meeting where participants are invited to work together on a common problem or issue, often with the goal of producing a product. |
| Charette | A collaborative meeting where project stakeholders attempt to resolve conflicts and draft solutions to a design/planning problem in a limited period of time. |
| Website | Easily accessible information repositories for broad audiences. |
| Brainstorming | A method for generating a range of creative solutions to a problem by having participants come up with as many ideas as possible. |
| Key Stakeholder Interviews | Telephone or in-person interviews to obtain in-depth information from key stakeholders. |
| Social Media | Social media is the collective of online communications channels that enable users to create and share content, and to interact with other users with whom they share a connection. |
| Public Meeting | An umbrella term for all types of meetings, including open houses, public hearings, and workshops. Also a specific kind of meeting where people provide public comment, but in a less formal setting than a public hearing. |
| Open house | An event to share information and allow informal discussion between agency staff and the public. |
| Online engagement tools | Tools that enable digital interaction with members of the public throughout a public participation process. |
| Newsletters | A series of periodic updates that keep people informed about a decision-making process. |
| Fact sheet | An easily digestible, one-page document that provides basic information on a specific topic. |
| Central Information Contact / Hotline | A designated person or persons who serve as a single point of contact for inquiries about the decision process, the public participation process, or the project. |
| Public Hearing | A formal meeting at which people present official statements and comments are recorded. |
| Situation analysis | A situation analysis, or situation assessment, is the first step in any kind of public or stakeholder engagement effort. It is the step in which you gather information to determine the appropriate level of public participation for your project or decision and to design the public participation process. |
