Helping to bring government to the people, through better communication Mentioned at two trainings I attended this year as easy way to get the word out I reached out to vendor for more information

Prior methods of public outreach BY ISLAND COUNTY Press Release Mail-out Website Email Distribution List Press Release; sometimes published, sometimes not – sometimes read, sometimes not, many people do not subscribe Mail-out; for PW usually project specific, to geographic area Website; sometimes difficult to navigate, dependent on citizen looking for, and finding information Email; multiple email distribution lists that are topic specific, other issues covered later Open Houses; dependent on ‘getting the word out’ by one of the other methods, sometimes only 1 – 2 people attend Not shown, but sometimes used by public works – going door-to-door Public Open House / Meeting

What is govdelivery? govDELIVERY is the largest sender of digital information on behalf of government agencies “From automated distribution of web content to beautifully crafted newsletters, engage with more of your audience through today’s most effective digital channels” ‘Digital Information’ includes all of these items I would recommend starting with email, probably as that’s my comfort zone – why it’s highlighted How it works; 1) automated notification of website change, minimal new staff work – review and approve, gets the word out to people that have signed up for that topic 2) send out press releases, open houses, mail-outs – minimal new staff work, input to email and review and approve, 3) create newsletters using templates (EXAMPLE) – looks inviting, ranges from slightly more to lots more staff work. Example of paving updates currently posted on web. Could be minimal effort to review and approve web update email. Or, could be slightly more to enter into standard verbage and distribute. Option is out there for more involved newsletters, etc… Facebook Example

VALUE - branding Consistent Look and Feel

Value – Outreach Synergy Increases public outreach Common Enrollment Lists Includes all Topics Allows public to sign up for multiple interests Promotion through other Public Agency’s Enrollment Mentioned briefly earlier, citizens can sign up for what they are interested in – example One benefit is that when they are signing up for one item (example paving updates) they may see something else, say in planning, that they would like to receive updates on. Also, promoted on other agencies’ signup lists, example Distribution choices are also available, daily, weekly

COMMON ENROLLMENT

PROMOTION

ADDED VALUE Email Distributions are one-way Subscribers cannot see other email addresses Subscribers cannot ‘reply to all’ ADDED VALUE Poll Questions Advanced features allow polling Can automate Facebook post Website update

Benefits multiple departments Current Categories Potential Categories Public Works Planning Public Health Sheriff’s Office Treasurer’s Office Commissioners Office Assessor’s Auditor’s Human Services Human Resources

Island County Public works topics Weather Updates Doing Business with Mapping Center Roads by District Notifications Project Updates Parks & Trails Solid Waste Success Story: Public Input to the Transportation Improvement Plan

A year in numbers 274 Bulletins Sent 470,000 Recipients 175,000 Unique Opens Island County population: 85,000

Continued Increase in Subscribers 3400 5400 7000 1000 unsubscribed

Source of Subscribers

Major Network Contributors

Cost & Start-up $18,000 per year Implementation Time / Cost Based on population of 85,000 Implementation Time / Cost 4-6 weeks Primarily identifying county sign-ups $2,300