Every day, Federal agencies work on policies and programs that touch millions of lives—whether it’s by helping people become homeowners, delivering benefits for Veterans, or investing in infrastructure from bridges to energy to internet access. Hearing from the individuals and communities most or uniquely affected by a particular issue can help agencies better understand how to address that issue, leading to more effective, responsive, and equitable policies and programs. That’s why agencies engage with the public through activities like listening sessions, notice and comment processes, user research, and surveys.
To help agencies improve opportunities for public participation and community engagement (participation and engagement), the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) wants your input on two documents:
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Draft guidance for Federal agencies that provides common definitions and guiding principles for participation and engagement, a sample framework to help decide when and how to involve the public, and steps to help broaden public engagement.
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A draft outline for a toolkit to help agencies plan, implement, and assess the impact of meaningful participation and engagement.
You can visit www.performance.gov/participation to share your comments on these draft documents until Friday, November 29. The site includes instructions for submitting feedback and options to register for live events hosted by OMB to hear from the public.
The draft guidance includes actions that agencies should take to help ensure that their decision-making meaningfully invites and incorporates public input, such as:
- Designating participation and engagement points of contact for agency staff and the public;
- Conducting an initial capacity assessment to better understand agency strengths and needs related to public involvement; and
- Creating and maintaining a centralized webpage for agency public participation and community engagement activities to make it easier for members of the public to find available opportunities.
The draft guidance also:
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Encourages Federal agencies to adopt leading practices for engagement, such as providing public notice of engagement opportunities as early as feasible; offering materials in various languages and accessible formats; and building on relationships that regional and field agency offices might have with community organizations.
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Describes steps that the Federal Executive Councils could take, assisted by OMB, to support agencies in broadening participation and engagement. For instance, they might develop topic-specific guidance and contribute subject matter expertise to the toolkit, or explore the possibility of providing accessibility accommodations by default for Federal engagement opportunities.
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Builds on related guidance and efforts by OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, focusing on how agencies can strengthen public involvement when designing regulations.
While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to participation and engagement, the toolkit would centralize materials to help agencies engage the American people, including individuals from underserved communities, in ways that better meet agency and community needs and priorities.
OMB’s draft guidance emphasizes the importance of early and transparent engagement with the public. When developing this guidance, OMB sought to model leading practices for public participation and community engagement ourselves. We held seven listening sessions and invited written comments through Regulations.gov, a simple online form, and email to learn more about barriers to greater participation in Federal engagement activities and potential content for a participation and engagement framework. Take a look at what we asked and what the public shared with us. We learned that, above all, people want a conversation with their Government. They want to be heard and know their feedback matters, and they want more consistency in outreach across Federal agencies. We’re grateful for the hundreds of participants who provided feedback to OMB—all of which informed the draft guidance and toolkit outline, and today’s request for your further feedback.
Government works best when it’s built by and with the people. Your input will help OMB shape the final guidance and toolkit. We look forward to hearing from you over the next 30 days and beyond, as OMB continues to support agencies in providing more meaningful opportunities for public participation and community engagement.
