Community-Based User Experience: Evaluating & Improving Civic Engagement
@Catalyze SV (currently in progress)
This is an exploratory research project that I am currently completing as volunteer work with Code for San Jose. The objective is to develop a way for Catalyze SV to reach marginalized communities in Santa Clara County. The strategy we develop should be easily repeatable and scalable so that Catalyze SV can continue engaging with the community to increase equitable and sustainable land development through amplifying resident voices.
My Role
UX Researcher (pro bono)
Background
Catalyze SV (CSV) is a non-profit organization for community members, developers, and city leaders to envision and create sustainable, equitable, and vibrant places for people in Silicon Valley. Code for San Jose (CFSJ) has partnered with CSV on projects in the past to help advance its mission. CSV wants to connect more deeply with community members they’re not reaching and make civic engagement more accessible for all.
Individual Challenges
I found it challenging to really understand our goals as a team. CFSJ and CSV had previously worked on projects together. Because CFSJ is largely made up of volunteers, as projects ended or people left, some of that institutional or organizational knowledge left with them. Some clarifying questions I asked to better grasp the goals and challenges were:
Am I correct in my understanding that we are focusing on connecting with and mobilizing underrepresented people in the community?
The Final Draft (a document from a former session) has a list of top ideas that we'd like to get a community read on, but they all list different problems. Are we trying to move forward with just one of these ideas?
Are we married to the idea of surveying the community? Just wondering if there may be a better method depending on what our goals are.
Goals
Through asking questions like the ones listed above, I was able to draft goals for our team to discuss.
Identify the best methods for connecting with the community.
Identify the barriers to building rapport/trust.
Understand the community's needs.
Discover ways Catalyze SV can fit into the targeted audience’s current lifestyle.
Research Questions
Is our target group already engaged in community efforts?
If yes to the previous question, which groups or initiatives?
How do they feel about their local government?
What is their base knowledge on land development in the county?
How can we fit into their lives?
How can we empower them to engage?
Have they heard of CSV?
Next Steps
Identifying ways to connect with a group of users or an entire community of marginalized people can be challenging if they are already underrepresented in the space. As I continue to collaborate with other volunteers at Code for San Jose, we’ll work to reach these communities through identified residential stakeholders and leaders. Operating in museums and community outreach taught me that there are often already people working to mobilize their communities. Collaborating and communicating with those people and deferring to their knowledge is in my experience the best way to evangelize those users’ needs and build trust.
Because many of us are remote, we’ll need to think about how we can conduct qualitative and quantitative studies from afar and how this might impact rapport building with the community. We thankfully have funding, but will have to consider budget restraints and staffing as we continue doing this work.