Media City Public Engagement Initiative Triggers PR Fiasco A brand-new initiative by the City of Hamilton to engage the public on public infrastructure funding has already drawn sharp criticism and ridicule. By Ryan McGreal

Published January 08, 2013

this article has been updated

A brand-new initiative by the City of Hamilton to engage the public on public infrastructure funding has already drawn sharp criticism and ridicule.

Called "Our Voice, Our Hamilton", the initiative seeks public input on which city services Hamiltonians most value in an era of declining transfers from higher levels of government.

The City hired a PR company, Ottawa-based Dialogue Partners Inc, to run the campaign. It includes a website, as well as social media presence on Twitter and Pinterest.

The website includes a letter from Chris Murray, City Manager for the City of Hamilton: "Knowing what services Hamiltonians value most will help the City make more informed decisions when it comes time to prepare the budgets for future years. The input you provide will help my colleagues and I invest our limited dollars according to what you value."

The City is paying Dialogue Partners to undertake broad public consultation on how to prioritize public spending, followed by a summary report in the Spring.

A May 24, 2012 Information Report [PDF] said the City is paying Dialogue Partners $402,450. However, according to a September 19, 2012 Information Report [PDF], the approved budget for the project is actually $376,000.

The work will also include several "legacy items" for the City that will outlive the consulting contract, including: online and mobile tools for citizen engagement, a "comprehensive communications/media plan template" that the City can use for future initiatives, an "internationally certified five-day citizen engagement training course" for 25 City staff, a City citizen engagement policy, and a citizen engagement stakeholder database.

According to Kelly Anderson, spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, "Dialogue Partners was hired through the City's usual competitive bidding process that considered both cost and related experience."

The PR firm helped administer public consultations in Calgary and Edmonton, including Calgary's Our City. Our Budget. Our Future program.

PR Fiasco

Do you know the difference between civic engagement and PR? Civic engagement is authentic communication, whereas PR uses phrases like "capture your comment".

Our Voice, Our Hamilton launched a shitstorm on Twitter when the consultants responded to a comment by Eric Gillis expressing support for "the continuation of voluntary pay for disabled [people] on the HSR" with this reply:

we launched officially today. Thks for the comment - what is "HSR" just so we can accurately capture your comment :) Thanks!

Things sort of went downhill after that. After taking some flak for not knowing what the HSR is, the consultant replied, "had to ask. We can't assume anything".

This prompted another wave of outrage, including a satirical new Twitter account called @OurRealHamilton and a humorous suggestion that the consultant could try Googling "HSR".

Things really got going when Michael Pett proposed a new hashtag, #TellOHEverything, to inform the out-of-town consultant about all things Hamilton:

Comedy ensued, but so did a more critical look at the initiative, including the discovery by independent journalist Joey Coleman that Our Voice, Our Hamilton was using a photo of the Hamilton Ohio Courthouse on its Pinterest page.

Coleman also noticed that the Hamilton t-shirt on the Our Voice, Our Hamilton Pinterest page was for Hamilton, Washington.



T-shirt for Hamilton, Washington (Image Source: Pinterest)

Essentially, a case study in how not to conduct civic engagement.

Update: Updated the cost of the consultant based on the city's audit, finance and administration committee information report. You can jump to the changed paragraph.

Update 2: Updated to add a more recent Information Report citing a project cost of $376,000. You can jump to the changed paragraph.

Update 3: A city spokesperson confirmed that the PR company was contracted through a competitive bidding process. You can jump to the changed paragraph.

Update 4: Updated to include more detail in what the City is receiving for the $376,000 cost of the project. You can jump to the added paragraph.

Ryan McGreal, the editor of Raise the Hammer, lives in Hamilton with his family and works as a programmer, writer and consultant. Ryan volunteers with Hamilton Light Rail, a citizen group dedicated to bringing light rail transit to Hamilton. Ryan wrote a city affairs column in Hamilton Magazine, and several of his articles have been published in the Hamilton Spectator. His articles have also been published in The Walrus, HuffPost and Behind the Numbers. He maintains a personal website, has been known to share passing thoughts on Twitter and Facebook, and posts the occasional cat photo on Instagram.

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