No, this is not a site where happy couples announce they will soon marry. Engage Wake Forest is a community website where town residents can engage, communicate and collaborate with decision makers and other residents on the future of our community. Developed by mySidewalk, the site is at http://wakeforest.mindmixer.com/.
The goal of Engage Wake Forest is to encourage area residents to participate in the planning process for a variety of town initiatives. Along the way, the site will be used as an online tool to generate new ideas and feedback from citizens through an interactive and accessible platform.
Town officials and staff will use the feedback from the engagement website to lay out plans on a variety of projects.
“Engage Wake Forest will allow our citizens to offer their input 24-hours-a-day on a variety of Town initiatives,” said Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones. “We are pleased to offer this innovative tool and encourage all our residents to use it and connect with their town government.”
Engage Wake Forest gives contributors a chance to share new ideas, second others’ ideas, expand upon existing ideas and give feedback on initiatives, working with community leaders on a variety of topics online anytime, anywhere.
The online discussion has begun with topics related to the upcoming holiday season and the 2018 Comprehensive Wake Forest Transportation Plan. Community input promises to be the cornerstone of the Transportation Plan and Engage Wake Forest is one of several innovative ways the town will solicit feedback from the public.
Current questions posed on Engage Wake Forest include the following:
- Of Wake Forest’s numerous holiday events, which is your favorite & why?
- What is your preferred vision for transportation in our community?
In addition to topic questions, Engage Wake Forest will utilize polls, surveys, idea submissions and picture share opportunities to engage citizens.
Among its many features, the site measures and tracks participation, identifying the most interested citizens and most compelling topics. MindMixer’s tools make it easy for administrations to communicate back with citizens, and they deliver measurable results and invaluable insights for the planning process.
“Our tools go beyond just technology, said Stephen Hardy, CEO of mySidewalk. “Our mission is to build community contributors. Ideas, voices and perspectives are shared to facilitate deeper and better conversations that yield actionable insights and a stronger community.”
As part of its service, mySidewalk consults and collaborates with clients to identify issues that are critical to stakeholders in order to update topics and content for their websites.
The Town originally launched “Engage Wake Forest” through MindMixer in September 2014. In March 2015, MindMixer rebranded to mySidewalk and the company began offering a different engagement solution before re-launching its MindMixer product earlier this year.
To learn more, contact Communications & Public Affairs Director Bill Crabtree at 919-435-9421 or bcrabtree@wakeforestnc.gov.
