Community Engagement Team
As our department grows into its new role we are planning the expansion of coordinated Citywide communication efforts with the creation of the Community Engagement Team, led by our Civic Design Manager Sean Mooney. This team will be a group of interdepartmental representatives charged with the strategic planning, coordination, and dissemination of Citywide communications and community engagement. We will work to create streamlined processes for press releases, website publishing, social media, and all aspects of outreach.
The team’s efforts will be supplemented by the creation of a Crisis Communications Subgroup with members of the Police Department, Fire Department, Department of Public Works, and City Manager’s Department who will work to ensure information is coordinated, consistent, accurate, and timely in the case of high impact events.
The objective of the Communications Team is to build a better democratic society in San Rafael by:
- Making residents and business owners a part of the conversation;
- Improving strategic communication processes citywide;
- Implementing continuous learning and improvement related to civic engagement.
We will share all the resources, templates and guides that we create on the employee website at employees.cityofsanrafael.org/engage.
Major Projects
Microsoft Office Upgrade
The Tech Support team is continuing to roll out the Microsoft Office upgrade, currently coordinating with Community Development, Public Works and some remaining Police Department staff. Community Services – you’ll be next! After your upgrade, you’ll receive a satisfaction survey — please take it so we can learn how to improve.
City Council Chambers Improvements
We are conducting final testing for new connections in the City Council Chambers so staff can use laptops at either table when using the room. We also installed a new computer for presentations. Newer doesn’t always mean better, but in terms of the old computer that was in there… it does.
You Are Invited – Thursday, January 24, 12 pm
Are you interested in learning more about agile project management? Wait… what’s ‘agile’? It’s an approach to working (or managing a project) that is iterative, incremental, and interactive. People who are impacted by a project are engaged from the beginning as well as throughout the project. Tasks are prioritized and completed in short ‘sprints’ of work – typically a duration of two weeks. When an organization adopts agile, it can fundamentally change its culture to be more collaborative, responsive to change, and minimize the risk of large and expensive failures.
Our Department will be hosting Intro to Agile Project Management with Tony Fortenberry, an expert from Agile Government Leaders. The presentation will provide a basic introduction to agile practices and could be a huge benefit to staff who want to improve their abilities to manage projects large and small. This presentation is part of our Department’s first All Hands Staff meeting but this presentation will be open to all staff members from 12:00pm to 12:45pm. Space is limited, so please reach out to me at rebecca.woodbury@cityofsanrafael.org and let me know if you’d like to attend.
Interested in agile but can’t make it? Agile Government Leaders offers three DIY courses on their website for free! Check them out.
Winter is Here and… Mail Service Changes are Coming
We are soon moving mail services out of Room 207 to provide a better working environment with fewer distractions, allowing for us to focus on the work of supporting City staff’s technology and service design needs. Incoming / outgoing mail, including packages, will soon be located at the end of the hallway in lockable cabinets (each department will be provided a key). Stay tuned as we finalize the set up and process.