Practice Scenario #1

You are tasked with updating guidelines for staff in your agency to follow in their service delivery to low-income Washingtonians. You have six months to complete this assignment.

Step 1: Ground your Community Engagement Process in the SPICE Model

Using the SPICE model, plan for the following types of community interaction:

  • How will you seek the necessary community groups for workgroup participation?
  • How will you inform all the workgroup participants and the broader and diverse Washington community of the workgroup’s progress?
  • How will you genuinely partner with all workgroup participants? How will you know if they feel the partnership is genuine?
  • How will you collaborate with any other relevant perspectives that are not on the workgroup (agency communications, other state agencies, local government, private sector, non-profit sector, philanthropy)
  • How will you engage with the broader community groups and tribes so that workgroup participants are not tokenized or expected to represent their entire communities?

Step 2: Develop a General Plan and Timeline for the Workgroup

  • You only have six months to complete this project (in this example), so you must understand timelines for establishing the workgroup and delivering the product or outcome that is expected of this group. Inclusion, accessibility, and community engagement and partnership must not be rushed, minimized, or eliminated.
  • Do you need the assistance of a project manager to help you design the timeline?
  • Do you have the support and approval of your supervisor or agency leadership?
  • Did you consult the legislative sponsor, advocates, trusted messengers, Consulting State Entities, etc. in the development of your project plan?

Step 3: Identify Community Perspectives by Conducting a Landscape Analysis

  • Do you have a general understanding of the population or group that is most impacted by the policy or topic?
  • What is the root cause problem that this workgroup aims to solve? Identify any data sources of information available pertaining to the issue. Has the data been disaggregated? Does it identify any disparities or gaps in outcomes for specific demographic groups? Make sure you understand the Root Cause of the policy challenge before you:
    • Define the problem. Be specific and fact-based.
    • Why did the problem occur?
    • Why did that cause happen?
    • Repeat this line of questioning, drilling down to uncover the root cause, usually takes 5 iterations.
    • Define the root cause, summarizing the information from your line of questioning.
    • Develop corrective actions.
  • Have you established a strong equity lens through your landscape analysis?
    • An equity lens analysis can help you understand the community perspectives that are critical to your workgroup creating a solution that improves customer service and outcomes. 

Step 4: Develop your Plan for Accessibility and Inclusion

Use the tools in the Accessibility and Inclusion section for guidance as well as agency staff who may be available, such as your equity director, disability access manager, and language access manager. The Consulting State Entities may be available to assist as well. Some questions to consider:

  • How will you design the onboarding process to inform everyone about the project and process?
  • What language translations are needed to communicate with the people who participate in your workgroup or with impacted communities?
  • What accommodations may be necessary for virtual and in person meetings, like ASL and language interpretation, communication access real-time translation (CART), large print materials, advance materials, and wheelchair-accessible facilities?
  • How will meetings be facilitated to make space for different learning and communication styles?
  • How will decisions be made so that everyone gets to participate/collaborate?
  • How will you plain talk materials so the workgroup and broader community groups can accurately grasp the meaning?
  • How will potential participants know to communicate their needs around accessibility or interpretation/translation? 

Step 5: Develop and Finalize your Community Compensation Process

Carefully review the Washington State Community Compensation Guidelines, and consider the following questions when establishing your compensation process:

  • Make sure community members have their statewide vendor number if paying through state direct deposit or check (Note: there is now an electronic process available that includes electronic signature).
  • How will you inform community members of any potential risks or background information so they can make the best decision for their family (i.e. $600 limit for IRS reporting)?
  • What paperwork do community members need to complete to request payment or reimbursement?
  • What conversations and agreements need to be reached with your direct supervisor or leadership and your fiscal/accounting unit for a smooth and prompt payment process (community should receive payment within two weeks of request)?

Step 6: Recruit and Appoint Workgroup Members

In addition to the tools in the recruitment and appointment section, consider the following questions:

  • How might you adapt your process to create flexibility versus rigidity for different community groups (neither Washingtonians nor different community groups are a monolith, tailored approaches are a must)?
  • How will you keep the process intentional but simple (keep the application as short as possible, keep the interview informal and relaxed, make the decision process thoughtful).
  • How will you be intentional about not appointing a homogenous (race/ethnicity, geography, age, disability, LGBTQ+, and other common characteristics) project team?

Step 7: Onboard and Support Workgroup Members

In addition to the tools in the onboarding section, consider the following questions:

  • How will you tailor the onboarding process to meet the unique needs of every community member?
  • How will you provide the support needed for every community member to participate freely?
  • How will make sure community member perspectives are not silenced by government staff participants?
  • How will you make sure community members can participate as much as agency staff in decision-making?

Step 8: Measure for Impact

In addition to the tools in the measure for impact section, consider the following questions:

  • Based on the assessment, what went well?
  • Based on the assessment, what can you improve for the next workgroup with community member participants?
  • How might you follow up with the community members who participated on the workgroup to inform them of your assessment and any changes you will make for a better community member participation experience in the future?