We co-hosted a virtual open house led by the Cleveland Documenters team to officially welcome Clevelanders to the Documenters network. Here’s what we learned.
By Darryl Holliday
Over the last year, City Bureau has worked with Neighbor Up and the Cleveland Foundation to make local government meetings more accessible, host public events and adapt our participatory technology, Documenters.org, to Northeast Ohio. The work is part of City Bureau’s growing network of Documenters programs outside of Chicago, and our mission to train, pay and equip as many people as possible to take accountability into their own hands.
On September 3, we co-hosted a virtual open house led by the Cleveland Documenters team to officially welcome Clevelanders to the Documenters network. More than 80 people stopped by to learn about our plans, pose challenging questions and celebrate the start of a new, public resource for community information needs.
Here are 7 things we learned from the open house:
Make a playlist
Including a playlist for the Cleveland Documenters open house wasn’t a side note. The music was meant to get folks comfortable in a new space designed for community-building as we prepare to send them out to a space that, in many cases, was not built for them: local government. Check out the playlist Cleveland Documenters field coordinator (and DJ) Lawrence Caswell put together and get a feel for the vibe at the Cleveland Documenters open house.
Let the whole team speak
From reading chat questions out loud and answering questions to leading sections of the presentation, everyone had a voice in the open house, including each member of the Cleveland Documenters team. The result was a communal event that prioritized attendees and laid the groundwork for next steps.
Hold space for the process
I had my doubts that we would need an additional hour of open discussion and Q&A via video chat—but an hour was hardly enough as several of the 80 total Cleveland open house attendees stayed through the very end. Paired with an original, curated playlist, the discussion drew questions, comments, concerns and hopes out into the open.
“Loving the grassroots vibe of this work. Documenters so far feels like a very effective way to bridge the gap between neighborhood residents and public policy.”
— said one Open House attendee
Keep the kitchen cabinet stocked
The hiring team for our Cleveland Documenters field coordinator included six people from three organizations who reviewed applications, interviewed candidates and engaged in tough conversations around the qualities and experience that would make for an ideal leader for the Cleveland Documenters network. One member of our review crew dubbed it the “kitchen cabinet.” Insight from so many smart, engaged folks was invaluable in choosing our Cleveland field coordinator and setting the team up for a successful open house.
Move up the ladder
Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation was shared in a conversation with Neighbor Up following the Cleveland Documenters open house, and we’ve been thinking about it ever since. Arnstein’s ladder is a diagnostic tool that assesses the role your community plays in your work. The ladder, one of several similar frameworks, outlines ownership in a project or program—where it lives, how it’s exercised and how it’s perceived.
Don’t get ahead of yourself
Cleveland Documenters is one of several plans to reinvigorate local news in Northeast Ohio—and it certainly isn’t the only solution. As the Cleveland Documenters team begins deploying Documenters to public meetings and building a community around quality news it’s important to leave space for reflection, build with the people around us and plan for an equitable information ecosystem. We’re in good company with our partners in Cleveland.
“This is super hope-inspiring! Let’s go CLE let’s make this so effective that it laaaaasts.”
— commented an Open House attendee
The Documenters model is growing
The Documenters network is growing with sites in Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland with programs inspired by ours underway and in development in Fresno and Omaha. One thing we’re excited about in these early days: the network effect. Each Documenters program brings energy, innovation and new approaches that make the network more resilient—we’re looking forward to harnessing that communal power, together.
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