Engage your constituency

Most community leaders hold town-hall meetings where citizens comment on an expert’s view of how to fix things.  I find that asking citizens what they want -- before the study is done, before an answer is presented -- is the key to building an engaged community. 

Ask them what they value, systematically engage and cross-pollinate constituent groups, and help organize them around their priorities.  Then bring in the experts to empower citizen plans with strategy, study and statistics.  People will listen rather than criticize, then come back to help apply the expert knowledge to their particular interest. 

And keep bringing people together in smaller project groups—nothing works to rally a citizenry like consistent dialog, especially if you keep asking “how can we work together to build this community’s future, and who else needs to be here to make it happen?”  But don't forget to regularly convene the project groups to find the synergies between their work.