Agenda 12-12-23; 8-h - Approval of the Orange County Transportation Services Public Involvement Plan

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33 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PLAN 4. Document all feedback and identify issues for future meetings. Successfully implementing the plan requires standardized reporting procedures that allow for including all community involvement and tracking outreach follow-up needs. All comments from the community will be included in the appendix of the plan and in meeting packets to community boards. Examples of standard public engagement reports are included in the appendix. Monitoring and Evaluation • Public engagement activities are evaluated and improvements are made • Technology and resources continue to advance in efficiency and effectiveness • Best practices from other places are discovered and applied to local context. It ensures that decisions are made in consideration of and to benefit community needs and preferences. Early and continuous community involvement brings diverse viewpoints and values into the decision-making process. This process enables the department and County to make better decisions through collaborative efforts, builds mutual understanding and trust between agencies and the community we serve. Staff focuses on increasing community involvement in decisions rather than on conducting participation activities because they are required to do so. Timely responses to ideas from the community and allowing those ideas to inform decisions shows the community we value their involvement. Evaluation, both formal and informal, helps to measure, define, and improve community involvement effectiveness. Feedback from people who participate in community involvement events or processes often points out what works and what does not. Continuous reassessment can lead to events and processes that are more meaningful for participants and contribute more to transportation decision-making processes. Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of community involvement is a critical step in developing successful strategies. The department will monitor and evaluate the community involvement framework as listed below: 1. Monitoring and Evaluation of the effectiveness of the department plan will be undertaken through annual internal reviews conducted by the Transportation Director. The monitoring and evaluation period will coincide with the county's fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) and a report (to include a revised plan if needed) will be produced by Oct. 31 of the following fiscal year and submitted to the Board of County Commissioner for review. 2. The department's internal review will focus on the accuracy of the plan's implementation and will include the following policies, processes, and information contained within the Plan: a. Purpose and goal, b. Legislative and technology changes, c. Internal Orange County changes, whether structural or process oriented. Report Date 27