Carmel partners with Change.org to gather community ideas

Submitted by City of Carmel

In partnership with Change.org, the City of Carmel is participating in Civic Dialogues, a pilot initiative with the goal of identifying creative, community-driven solutions to local challenges. The program comes at no cost to the city.

Now until July 6, all Carmel residents will have the opportunity to share their ideas for positive change in how the city can support its local businesses at the website at this link. Shortly afterwards, Change.org will identify the ideas submitted that resonate most with all participants and assemble a group of residents from across the city for a dialogue to develop the ideas into actionable proposals. Through the use of online forums and virtual dialogues, this initiative hopes to identify what matters most to residents and highlight points of consensus; this serves as critical information that policymakers can use to drive change.

Mayor Sue Finkam has committed to reviewing the proposals that emerge from this process to see how the City might support them.

Finkam

“Our local business community is the heartbeat of Carmel, and ensuring its continued success requires an ongoing, collaborative effort,” Mayor Finkam said. “Partnering with Change.org gives us an innovative platform to invite residents into the conversation. The Civic Dialogues initiative ensures that everyone has a seat at the table and a meaningful opportunity to actively shape the future of our city.”

Duncan Lockard, General Manager of Civic Dialogues at Change.org, emphasized the importance of constructive dialogue in this process.

“Change.org will host an online space where residents can not only share their own ideas on what would be good for the city, but support and build on others’ ideas as well,” he said. “Our process engages a wide net of community members and builds consensus around practical policy solutions. We are excited to engage residents of Carmel and bring their ideas to city leadership.”

You can visit the website and offer your ideas until July 6, or vote on the ideas that have already been submitted, at ideasforchange.org/carmel.