If you are a local public agency, nonprofit or business leader, how do you think about the people who live in your area? Are they voters? Donors? Customers of your product? Of a service? Volunteers? Leaders and staff at agencies routinely use language and practices that regard residents in terms of the function they play in [...]
It was a pleasure to reconnect with the City of Burlingame this year, our first partner in San Mateo County’s Home for All Community Engagement Learning Network. Together in 2018 we piloted a redesign of how to convene local communities for broader and deeper mutual learning about options for addressing the region’s most pressing issue: affordable [...]
For communities throughout California, the question of how to meet affordable housing needs is a perennial challenge. And the pandemic has heightened tensions around landlords and tenants. Through our work with Home for All and cities throughout San Mateo County, Common Knowledge has pioneered an approach that invites community members to share their hopes, values, ideas, [...]
How do we make sense of the difficulty employers are having when looking for workers when there are so many people unemployed or underemployed hoping to get a job? One major factor is that the online resume screening that most companies use is deleting all kinds of people who could be strong candidates if the criteria [...]
Public agencies are on the receiving end of a lot of complaints. Some may be due to things that are within their control, but several complaints encompass larger challenges, beyond what an agency can impact with its programs and policies. As agencies grapple with how to address this negative input, often overlooked are the parts of [...]
Adult students at California’s library literacy programs have long been some of our most valued co-creators and collaborators in designing accessible nonpartisan election information, such as the Easy Voter Guide. Last year, the California State Library supported a refresh of the Key to Community Voter Engagement Project. Adult learner leaders from around the state came to [...]
As California marks the end to yet another record-breaking fire season and enters a challenging next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries across northern California are working together to improve their capacity to prepare and respond to disasters. Libraries have been innovating and reflecting on the important role they play in building community resilience and their [...]
“It’s not if, but when, the next disaster strikes.” Back in January 2020, these were the words from more than one library director at the NorthNet Library System (NLS) regional meeting. The NorthNet Library System brings together 41 member libraries in Northern California across 29 counties, many of whom have faced record-breaking wildfires, earthquakes, floods and [...]
With California voters already beginning to receive their ballots by mail, many people have questions about this year’s election. The Easy Voter Guide is here to help. Designed for busy voters as well as new voters, the guide is a nonpartisan starting point to get oriented about changes in how to vote in the Nov. 3 [...]
When it comes to providing information on complex issues, such as housing, it can be hard to know where to begin. Some people seem to know a lot, some not very much and confusion feels prevalent. Click the image above to see a larger version of Half Moon Bay's housing background handout. For the [...]
