Recommendations / Civic Engagement / Big Idea #2: Connect Columbus: Empowering the Columbus Community through Dynamic Engagement

Big Idea #2: Connect Columbus: Empowering the Columbus Community through Dynamic Engagement

Part of the "COMMUNICATE. CONNECT. COLUMBUS" initiative

Civic EngagementColumbus-Muscogee$250,000–$500,000

Overview

Implement a comprehensive neighborhood-level engagement infrastructure managed by the Communications and Community Affairs Department. The initiative leverages a three-part community program strategy: (1) Designing and distributing a city-wide resident survey and needs assessment to map preferred communication channels, localized assets, and neighborhood pride markers; (2) Creating a dedicated Manager of Community Engagement position to steer multi-agency workflows; and (3) Creating a flexible pool of seed funds for community-led events, paired with multi-agency mobile service activations—including the Mobile Resource Unit Brigade, Parks & Rec pop-ups, Valley Health Mobile Dental Unit, and the Piedmont Columbus Mobile Health Clinic—to link residents directly with critical resources.

Action plan

Short-term
(Short-Term Goals/Action Items Year 1 - Strategy & Survey): Form an internal steering committee with aligned city departments (Family Engagement, Parks and Recreation, Cultural Affairs); establish foundational partnerships with National Community Survey and Community Heart & Soul; formulate a transparent, cross-district survey recruitment plan; design and execute the city-wide community survey; distribute localized print, door-to-door, and social media notifications; generate a job description to recruit a full-time Manager of Community Engagement.
Medium-term
(Medium-Term Goals/Action Items Years 2-3 - Staffing & Grant Pool): Onboard the full-time Manager of Community Engagement within the Columbus Consolidated Government; design and launch the Community Engagement Strategic Plan built on the finalized resident survey data; establish the community event fund application portal, allowing grass-roots citizen groups to secure direct event grants; build a business sponsorship pool to scale up funding; build out a shared calendar of municipal arts, culture, and wellness events.
Long-term
(Long-Term Goals/Action Items Years 3+ - Scale & Sustainability): Scale up personnel within the Office of Communications and Community Affairs to manage city-wide neighborhood outreach; produce high-impact signature events modeled after regional benchmarks (such as Chamblee, GA) to connect adjacent neighborhoods; execute continuous feedback loops, Net Promoter Scores, and event ratings to align future municipal programs directly with verified data from the field.

Expected impact

Projected Training HoursEconomic

Headcount of steering committee core staff, departmental liaisons, and advisory board members trained under survey data models.

Timeframe: Short-term
Projected Participation RateCommunity

Net Promoter Score (NPS) value targeted across community surveys and event feedback forms to evaluate citizen satisfaction.

Timeframe: Medium-term
Projected Community EventsCommunity

Total annualized headcount of signature multi-neighborhood festivals and mobile resource pop-ups executed across commission districts.

Timeframe: Long-term
Projected FundingEconomic

Total implementation capital required to fund the master survey system, engagement director salary, grant pool, and operating costs.

Timeframe: Short-term

Key stakeholders

CCG Communications and Community Affairs DepartmentCCG Depts of Family Engagement, Parks & Rec, and Cultural AffairsNational Community Survey / Community Heart & SoulCommunity Foundation of the Chattahoochee ValleyMobile Medical Units (Piedmont Columbus & Valley Health)Local Businesses & Corporate Sponsors

Estimated budget

$278,000 Total Initial Capitalization and Operational Flow Layout (Blended Fixed & Annualized). • Community Survey & Needs Assessment: $100,000 (One-time expenditure for expert system development, multi-channel distribution, and data collection tools). • Manager of Community Engagement Salary: $68,000 (Annualized salary line covering comprehensive benefits and administrative overhead). • Seed Funding for Events Grant Pool: $10,000 (Annualized recurring capital block allocated to finance resident-led neighborhood event proposals). • Additional Operating/Event Costs: $100,000 (Annualized funding block backing multi-agency logistics, media distributions, and mobile unit deployments). • Graduate Intern: $12,000 (Annualized staffing allocation modeled at $15/hour for 20 hours/week).