Our Democracy’s Future: Democratic Innovation in New York City
Democracies are stronger when citizens are engaged. This statement holds true at the national, state, county, and city level. New York City, as part of its OneNYC initiative, has committed to strengthening public participation and inclusion through democratic...
Get to know the New York City Charter
A city charter is a document that functions somewhat like a constitution for the city. It enshrines certain functions of government and sets the rules for elections, land-use, and city government agencies. As cities innovate and change to better meet the needs of...
A Community Outreach Tool to Support Your Next Engagement Plan
A detailed community engagement plan is a key component of a successful outreach strategy. Community engagement plans establish a framework to guide your engagement by identifying stakeholders, engagement tactics, timelines, goals, and metrics to assess the success of...
What’s Next for the Summer Youth Employment Program
For teenagers, planning summer break can be exciting, but also anxiety inducing for those looking to secure a job for the summer months. In NYC, teenagers who spend their summers earning extra cash for themselves or to support their families often rely on the Summer...
New Strategies for a New Reality: Cloudburst Flooding
When you think of stormwater management, what do you think of? If you thought of water trailing down city streets and flowing into storm drains that lead into a sewer system or local waterways, you’d be right. But that is only one part of the stormwater management...
Thinking about an agile assessment? This tool is for you
What is Agile Assessment? Agile assessments evaluate program impact and efficiency, provide performance management and optimization, and offer actionable feedback for clients. Public Works Partners employs a range of methods to conduct thorough assessments on a...
Evaluate and Innovate: Using Evaluation Tools to Ensure Long-Term Success
One of the biggest misconceptions about evaluations is that their primary purpose is to fix problems. Short-term improvements are one of the benefits of an evaluation for sure, but they are far from their only intended outcome. When the Public Works Partners team is...
Nor’easter Thoughts: Community Engagement in the Winter
Very few events can slow the breakneck pace of life in New York City like a heavy snowfall. As many of us experienced this weekend, a winter storm leads New Yorkers to stay at home, holed up and waiting for spring. Even in the absence of a blizzard, people are...
What’s More Exciting than Infrastructure? Why the Infrastructure Bill is an Even Bigger Deal than You May Think.
Nothing quite excites an office of planners and policy analysts like a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is worth celebration, both from the folks in the business of building and from...
A SWOT in the dark: Why now is the time to assess your organizational health
The last two years have been trying, tumultuous, and hard to plan for. With so many uncertainties facing businesses and, especially, nonprofits on a near-daily basis, many leaders went into survival mode. Planning could come later. Well, now it’s later. And now is the...