Staff Guide: Creating Prompts and Questions for Meaningful Civic Engagement Events
Purpose
This guide helps city staff craft prompts and questions for in-person meetings, online forums, and interactive engagement events that generate rich dialogue and actionable community input. These principles can also be used when thinking about survey design.
Facilitation Framework: The ENGAGE Method
E - Establish context and purpose clearly N - Normalize different perspectives and experiences G - Generate ideas through open-ended prompts A - Amplify key themes and insights G - Ground discussions in specific examples E - Elevate actionable next steps
Types of Engagement Prompts
Type of Prompt | Purpose | Example |
Icebreaker/Opening | Help participants feel comfortable | “Introduce yourself and share one thing you love about living in this community.” “What brought you here tonight and what do you hope we can accomplish together?” |
Experience Mapping | Gather detailed, contextual feedback about services and processes | “Walk us through the last time you tried to use [city service]. What was that experience like?” |
Visioning and aspiration | Tap into community hopes and long-term thinking | “Imagine it’s 10 years from now. A new resident asks you what makes OKC special. What would you tell them?” “If we could fix one thing to improve the community, what would it be?” |
Problem-solving prompts | Generate creative solutions and practical ideas | “If you were re-designing [specific service/area], from scratch, what would you keep and what would you change?” “What’s something another city does that makes you think, ‘Why don’t we do that here?’” “What resources or talent in this room could help solve [specific challenge]?” |
Values and priorities | Understand what drives community preferences | “What does ‘community’ mean to you? Can you give us a specific example?” “What does it mean to live in a safe and healthy city?” |
Perspective-taking | Build empathy and understanding across different experiences | “Think about someone in our community whose experience with [service, neighborhood, issue] might be very different from yours. What challenges might they face?” “If you were a [new parent, senior citizen, small business owner, etc.] what would be your biggest concerns?” |
Adapting Prompts for Different Formats
Large Group Meetings (50+ people)
- Use prompts that work for table discussions (6-8 people)
- Create structured sharing protocols
- Include written reflection before verbal sharing
- Plan for report-backs from small groups
Example Flow:
- "Take 2 minutes to think about..." [individual reflection]
- "Share your thoughts with your table" [small group discussion]
- "Each table, share one key insight with the larger group" [report back]
Small Group Discussions (8-15 people)
- Use prompts that build on each other
- Allow for natural conversation flow
- Encourage participants to respond to each other
- Circle back to themes that emerge
Example Flow:
- Opening: "Let's go around and each share..."
- Deepening: "Building on what we've heard, what patterns do you notice?"
- Action: "Given what we've discussed, what should happen next?"
Online Forums and Digital Engagement
- Front-load context and background information
- Use prompts that work for asynchronous responses
- Create threading that encourages dialogue
- Include multimedia options (photos, videos, links)
Example Prompts:
- "Post a photo that represents your vision for [topic] and tell us why you chose it"
- "Respond to this question, then read others' responses and build on one that resonates with you"
- "Share a link to something from another community that inspires you, and explain why"
Walking Tours and Site Visits
- Use location-specific prompts
- Encourage observation and immediate reaction
- Connect physical space to broader policy questions
- Document insights in real-time
Example Prompts:
- "Stand here and look around. What do you notice that works well? What feels off?"
- "If you brought a friend here, what would you point out first?"
- "What would make this space more welcoming/functional/safe?"
Question Sequencing Strategy
1. Start with Easy, Engaging Questions
- Demographic basics (optional)
- General satisfaction or experience
- Topics everyone can answer
2. Move to Core Issues
- Priority-setting questions
- Specific service feedback
- Policy preferences
3. End with Forward-Looking Questions
- Suggestions for improvement
- Vision for the future
- Open-ended final thoughts
4. Report Back
- Publish summary of key findings
- Explain how feedback influenced decisions
- Acknowledge when feedback couldn't be implemented and why
5. Continue the Conversation
- Invite participants to follow-up sessions
- Create ongoing advisory groups
- Establish regular feedback cycles
