Building Civic Infrastructure

Enhancing Citizen Participation through the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) and Knowledge Base Development for City Council and School Board Meetings.

Active citizen participation is crucial for democratic governance and community well-being. City council and school board meetings provide vital platforms for citizens to engage with local government, yet many citizens struggle with formulating clear and impactful questions that lead to meaningful dialogue. Moreover, even when important questions are asked, their answers are often not easily accessible or preserved for future reference, limiting broader community learning.

To address this, we propose an initiative that not only empowers citizens to ask better questions using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) but also creates a community knowledge base. This knowledge base will catalog the questions posed at city council and school board meetings, along with corresponding answers or summaries of discussions. By building this repository, we will enhance civic engagement and create a resource for citizens to access past inquiries, answers, and community concerns.