Case studies

400+ local governments trust CitizenLab with their community engagement projects.

Our case studies highlight real-world community engagement initiatives from CitizenLab’s network. Full of good practices and lessons learned from other local governments and organizations that have used our digital community engagement platform, learn from our network to help power your own participation projects.

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case studies

A year in review of online engagement in Seattle, WA

A year in review of online engagement in Seattle, WA

Using CitizenLab’s user-friendly and accessible online engagement platform, the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD) reached thousands of residents in their planning process over 2022, all while supporting their goal for inclusive and equitable engagement.

Norwich, CT teams up with local development corporation to develop a community engagement platform

Norwich, CT teams up with local development corporation to develop a community engagement platform

As a unique collaboration between the city and the local community development corporation, Norwich's community engagement platform is off to a strong start with a strong communications plan and cohesive team goals.

Carlisle, PA develops a vibrant engagement platform to revamp public spaces for its community

Carlisle, PA develops a vibrant engagement platform to revamp public spaces for its community

Looking to create a more official and consolidated platform that allowed for additional oversight and increased transparency, such as the redesign of public spaces, the Carlisle team launched a CitizenLab platform and set out to generate ideas about how to use their new public spaces.

How Struthers, OH successfully engaged youth and senior residents in their comprehensive plan

How Struthers, OH successfully engaged youth and senior residents in their comprehensive plan

Through their online platform Discover Struthers, the government created an engaging and consistent process for community engagement that makes it easy to gather and analyze a variety of perspectives.

How Wichita used public participation to address affordable housing issues

How Wichita used public participation to address affordable housing issues

Across the United States, affordable housing has become a top priority for local governments as the housing crisis continues to place economic and social strain on communities. With the infusion of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Wichita, Kansas, jumped at the opportunity to address housing issues in their city through public participation.

Developing the Dominican Republic’s 2030 Digital Agenda through community engagement

Developing the Dominican Republic’s 2030 Digital Agenda through community engagement

When the government of the Dominican Republic set out to create a 2030 Digital Agenda, it had one ambitious goal: to promote a connected, empowered society with a better quality of life and the necessary digital skills to be more competitive, efficient, and transparent.

City of Lancaster, PA combines offline and online for equitable community engagement

City of Lancaster, PA combines offline and online for equitable community engagement

This inclusive approach increased participation, including within traditionally under-heard communities, and gave the City the confidence to use their online engagement platform Engage Lancaster to tackle challenging local problems.

How community engagement helped reimagine public spaces in Philadelphia

How community engagement helped reimagine public spaces in Philadelphia

From urgent calls for racial justice in public spaces to the recovery of small businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s obvious that urban main streets face unique economic and social challenges.

Stirling’s centralized community engagement promotes safe and impactful participation

Stirling’s centralized community engagement promotes safe and impactful participation

With a population of around 94,000, the Stirling Council area sits right in the heart of Scotland. When the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves to communities around the world, Stirling Council found itself with a conundrum: how could they get valuable community input without in-person meetings?

How the London Borough of Newham used community assemblies to identify local priorities

How the London Borough of Newham used community assemblies to identify local priorities

With around 300,000 residents, Newham is one of the biggest and most diverse boroughs in London, so it should be no surprise that it’s not new to community engagement.

Community Panels and Neighborhood Budgets: Ghent goes all in for participation

Community Panels and Neighborhood Budgets: Ghent goes all in for participation

2020 brought the second edition of the city's participatory budgeting project. The city gathered an extensive team of participation experts and “neighborhood directors” to make co-creation even easier.

A conversation on climate action in Cheltenham

A conversation on climate action in Cheltenham

Climate change affects all of our communities. Big or small, urban or rural, we’re all increasingly impacted by it. And while climate change may seem like an issue too large to tackle, many communities are proving that’s just not the case.

CQC engages health professionals

CQC engages health professionals

The Care Quality Commission consulted health professionals in the UK to gather insights insights into the needs and issues in health and social care

How Almere (NL) engaged older residents through a mix of online and offline participation

How Almere (NL) engaged older residents through a mix of online and offline participation

Combining online and offline participation is often the best engagement option to reach a wide audience. Almere, a city in the Dutch province of Flevoland, decided to create a comprehensive strategy to support its older population.

INJUV consults millenials in Chile

INJUV consults millenials in Chile

Chile's National Youth Institute used its participation platform to connect with millenials and give them a voice in the elaboration of community programs. In a couple of months, over 28,250 young people signed on to share their ideas.

The Free University Of Brussels goes back to campus with a participation platform

The Free University Of Brussels goes back to campus with a participation platform

ULB, the Université Libre de Bruxelles, was looking to involve its students directly in defining priorities and drawing up action plans. In light of this mission, the ULB authorities recently decided to launch a participation platform.

Collective urban planning in the London Borough of Newham

Collective urban planning in the London Borough of Newham

The London Borough of Newham has launched its consultation platform to include residents, businesses and shoppers in urban planning decisions.

All eyes on the climate in Grand Paris Sud

All eyes on the climate in Grand Paris Sud

Grand Paris Sud consulted citizens on three key aspects of their upcoming annual strategy: mobility, culture and environment.

Linz implements bottom-up participation

Linz implements bottom-up participation

Linz (Austria) implemented citizen proposals to widen the scope of public engagement, allowing citizens to participate on any topic, from anywhere, at any time.

24,450 citizens take part in Peñalolén’s participatory budget

24,450 citizens take part in Peñalolén’s participatory budget

In each neighbourhood, citizens could voice their opinions and vote on what they think deserves the municipality’s investment. Over 24,450 inhabitants participated in this project via the online platform.

Rueil coordinates solidarity efforts during lockdown

Rueil coordinates solidarity efforts during lockdown

The French city of Rueil-Malmaison used its community engagement platform to coordinate solidarity efforts during lockdown. The results: over 30000 masks were made and 6000 food baskets were delivered to citizens in need.

Leuven gives citizens a voice for its strategic plan

Leuven gives citizens a voice for its strategic plan

With the slogan “Leuven, maak het mee” (a play on words that implies both “experience the city” and “co-create the city”), the capital of Flemish Brabant aims to consult its inhabitants.

Collecting citizen input for the city's annual plan in Kortrijk

Collecting citizen input for the city's annual plan in Kortrijk

Clarity, communication and political buy-in made the city's communication platform a success for all those involved.

Applying artificial intelligence to citizen participation on the Youth4Climate platform

Applying artificial intelligence to citizen participation on the Youth4Climate platform

Youth4Climate used CitizenLab's automated analysis feature to turn thousands of citizen contributions into concise and actionable insights.