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So . . . What is Together San Rafael?

Each of us has our own story to tell about what Together San Rafael is and what it looks like.

Yes--Together San Rafael brings together City employees to create, implement, and celebrate innovative solutions to organizational and community challenges (that's our mission). And yes--Together San Rafael's six Guiding Principles (Together in Service; Start with Community Needs; Find Something to Say Yes To; Reimagine the Status Quo; Practice Openness; and Be Mindful) help us achieve that mission. Yet still, we want to learn more. We want to see Together San Rafael in action.

Here’s what national organizations, such as Code for America, are saying about Together San Rafael:

When the City of San Rafael launched Together San Rafael, they started by working with cross-departmental teams at all levels of the City organization to create a set of guiding principles for the initiative. But they soon discovered that simply having these guiding principles on paper was not enough. So they partnered with CivicMakers, a group they met at the Code for America Summit that specializes in the application of human-centered design in the public sector. With CivicMakers’ help, they have found a way to bring the guiding principles of delivery-driven government into practice: through their creation of Learning Labs, where teams come together to come up with creative solutions to civic problems; their empowerment of city staff to be laser-focused on outcomes, rather than output; and their active community engagement and outreach.

Below are some curated local government blog posts and publications that help tell our story. If we've missed something (or if you'd like to add an article), let us know!

Publications

Originally published in January 2020. Copyright © 2020 Western City Magazine

Originally published in May 2019. Copyright © 2019 The President and Fellows of Harvard College

Originally published on May 6, 2019; written by Ruthie Reisner

Originally published on April 1, 2019; written by Jim Schutz

Originally published on August 3, 2016; written by Daniel Soto

Originally published on February 1, 2018; written by Rebecca Woodbury

Originally published on October 3, 2017; written by Issie Lapowsky

Originally published on August 7, 2017; written by Andrew Hening & Rebecca Woodbury

Originally published on July 24, 2017; written by Judi Brown &Rebecca Woodbury

Originally published on November 30, 2016; written by Rebecca Woodbury

Originally published on October 27, 2016; written by Ben Miller

Originally published on August 3, 2016; written by Rebecca Woodbury

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