Background

Making meaningful progress towards the Town's goal of creating a vibrant and inclusive community requires that the Town center the voices of residents most impacted by Town decisions and engage marginalized populations in the Town's decision-making processes. Historically, local governments have played a role in creating and maintaining institutional barriers to participation. While many local governments have made great strides in reversing policies and practices that exclude marginalized populations, there is still much progress to be made.

Conducting a Gap Analysis to identify populations that are under-engaged with the Town and completing an Engagement Study to deepen the Town's understanding of the reasons for under engagement aligns with the Town Council Goals and Community Connections Strategy, and represents an essential step towards addressing long-standing, institutionalized barriers to participation in Town government.

Purpose of the Study

1. Identify populations currently under-engaged with the Town
2. Deepen our understanding of reasons for this lack of engagement
3. Develop recommendations to support new engagement approaches prioritizing equity

Phases of the Study

• Phase 1: Community Partner Interviews and Survey
• Phase 2: Internal Analysis of Town Materials and Strategies
• Phase 3: Resident-Led Community Conversations

What We Learned

Through this Study, the Town identified who is missing from Town engagement, barriers to engagement, and recommendations for how the Town can strengthen engagement efforts to align with the Town's equity goals and the long-standing Council commitment to creating a vibrant and inclusive community. In addition to summarizing what the Town learned and making recommendations to address key findings, this report outlines immediate next steps that the Town can take. The identified next steps respond to what the Town heard and demonstrates the Town’s commitment to change and further centering equity in the Town's engagement efforts going forward.

Engagement Study Summary Report

Engagement Study Overview

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Gap Analysis and Engagement Study Results

Timeline

• Initial release of the Engagement Study Summary Report: The Report was provided to the Town Council as an informational agenda item on March 22, 2023. Materials for that item can be found here.
• Council Work Session Discussion of Study Results: The Town Council discussed the Gap Analysis and Engagement Study on May 17, 2023. Materials for that item can be found here.
• Staff is in the process of implementing the immediate next steps outlined in the Summary Report.
• Affordable Housing and Community Connections launches Cookies and Community in Fall 2023. 
• Affordable Housing and Community Connections develop the Chapel Hill Pocket Service Guide.

Have any questions or want to find out more information? Please contact Rebecca Buzzard at rbuzzard@townofchapelhill.org or call 919-968-2756.