Improving Citizen Participation and Feedback in Your Bagh: AManual on Town Halls
13
the topics covered during the forum and the ranking govern-
ment official should outline how the information gathered
will be reported back to other departments and utilized.
This format may be the easiest to organize, as it does not
require government officials to have prepared presentations
– keep in mind that they will still need to come with basic
information they believe constituents might ask about – but
it also has the least structure, which could lead to frustration
amongst constituents interested only in very specific issues
or who may perceive the event as “disorganized”. In addi-
tion, it may be difficult to encourage citizen participation at
an event without a pre-determined agenda.
Issue-specific forum
Town hall meetings that address a specific, targeted issue
typically begin with a short presentation by a ranking gov-
ernment official about that topic – this official may be the
mayor or the presentation may be made by technical advi-
sors who deal solely with the issue at hand. If a department
head is presenting, it may be advisable to also have the may-
or present at the meeting. So long as the presenter is com-
fortable, that person may also serve as the moderator given
their expertise on the subject. If the presenter is an issue ex-
pert, it is important that the presentation be easy to under-
stand by members of the general public not familiar with the
topic. Avoid jargon related to the topic and provide back-
ground information necessary to understand the presenta-
tion. Following the presentation, questions, feedback and
comments should be taken from constituents in attendance.
Employing this format will likely attract constituents inter-
ested in the particular issue identified – however, advance
notice of the focus of the event and targeted advertising will
be necessary for success. Should constituents attend that
