Step 2B: Prepare Your Partners and Participants

Planning for Partner and Participant Involvement

In Step 1 (Recruitment) your court’s engagement objectives determined what community partners you wished to work with and defined your target engagement audience(s). Next, your court needs to consider:

  • What do you need to do to prepare yourself for partnering with community partners?
  • How do you best involve and prepare partnering organizations in your engagement process?
  • How do you prepare your targeted community participants with the information they may need to provide you with meaningful input?

Principles for Collaborating with Community Partners

At the outset, it is important that community-court partnerships are based on solid foundations for collaboration. Keep in mind that effective partnerships should be based on mutual trust and shared goals or interests. General principles to consider for collaborating with partners may include some of the following elements.

  • Early involvement: Initiate outreach to partners early in your engagement planning. New partnerships will take time to generate mutual rapport and trust.
  • Deep listening: Make efforts to listen to and understand partner perspectives. Community organizations may have valuable insights that will inform your engagement project. Active listening will contribute to developing trust and provide your court with new knowledge about the issues.
  • Shared leadership: Ensure a proper balance of two-way involvement. A partnership with inequitable decision-making power limits community partners’ abilities to contribute to your project and can decrease trust.
  • A common and transparent decision-making structure: Establish a transparent decision-making process with all project partners. This may include convening regular planning meetings, creation of an advisory board, memorandums of agreement, hiring an independent facilitator, or even having formal governance rules if necessary.
  • Flexibility and awareness of limitations: True collaborations require flexibility by all partners, compromises, and shared responsibilities. Ensure you are aware of what your partners can and cannot contribute to the project. Be realistic about expectations, provide adequate support or information, and be willing to cede or share responsibilities with partners.

Preparing Partners for Engagement

Developing content that informs your court and community partners is a key step in preparing for your engagement activities. Your planning team should identify informational resources for your engagement and include them in your preparation plan. For topics involving racial inequities in the legal system, consider what resources are necessary to engage stakeholders and community members.

Engagement about racial inequities can require a thorough understanding of the historical and current context. Learning and discussion about historical inequalities, racism, and the lived experiences of court-involved marginalized populations can set the stage for candid discussions about these issues. Remember that the sensitivity of these issues and reluctance to address them can be a significant barrier to an effective engagement experience. Working with professional facilitators who specialize in these topics can be beneficial.

Pilot team example

  • The Franklin County, Ohio Municipal Court convened a training for all project team members and judges about racial disparities in the community prior to their engagement.

Implicit bias refers to people's stereotypes, assumptions and preferences of which they are not consciously aware. Implicit biases are internalized through our environment, and reflect inequalities and messages that have long existed in society. Implicit racial biases are unconscious, and may even contradict people’s conscious attitudes or values. But these implicit biases reinforce behaviors that can result in discriminatory outcomes. All people have implicit biases, and they extend beyond race to include gender, sexuality, age, nationality, religion, wealth, physical appearance and abilities, and other characteristics. Because of the unconscious nature of implicit biases, and their scope and impact on everyday behavior, many have recognized the importance of confronting implicit bias as a key part of addressing racial and social inequities.

Pilot team example

  • The Kansas City, Missouri Municipal Court convened a training for all project team members and partners on the importance of recognizing unconscious bias .

Your court or partners may have access to pre-existing data that can inform your engagement project. This may include data from previous public engagement initiatives, such as survey data or summaries of community discussions. Your court, other government entities (e.g., law enforcement, correctional facilities, probation), or non-profit or academic institutions may also have data that speaks to your issues of focus.

Pilot team examples

Preparing Participants for Engagement

In addition to preparing partners, preparing your target participants to engage is crucial. Your court may desire public feedback on a specific topic about court policies and procedures. It is important that your participants have information about your engagement event, as well as substantive information about the topics of discussion. If your target audience has a clear understanding about your event and its expectations, and enough background information about the topics of interest, it increases the likelihood of successful a public engagement event and outcomes.

Ensure that your recruited participants have basic information about the event itself. This should cover the who, what, when, and where of your engagement event, so community members know what to expect if they attend. Information should be communicated in advance, via letters, e-mails, social media, or other channels. This might include:

  • A clear and succinct description of your event, and any notable speakers, partners, or sponsors
  • Location information, such as maps, public bus routes, or parking instructions
  • Information about available meals or snacks for participants
  • Expectations related to participant incentives your court may be providing, such as gift cards, cash cards, or other items
  • Any other important information for participants (non-English language interpreters, accommodations, dress code, media presence, etc.)

Pilot team examples

  • The Nebraska Supreme Court Office of the State Court Administrator distributed flyers throughout Native American communities with key event information about their engagement.
  • The Puerto Rico Judicial Branch sent formal letters to community leaders (Spanish and English language) with key event information about their engagements.
  • The Texas Office of Court Administration and local partners distributed flyers directing community members to more information and registration for their engagement.

Remember that many members of the general public may have little or no in-depth knowledge about courts or the justice system in general. Indeed, many people find learning about court procedures to be complicated or intimidating. Properly framing information for your engagement topics helps orient community participants to your engagement. Similar to how you may prepare partners for your engagement, your court should create educational information or guidance for discussion that will give participants the knowledge and structure they need to provide high quality feedback.

Pilot team examples