Participation level:
- Medium (Opinions noted)
- Low (Information only)
Innovation level:
- Medium (Some new elements)
Facilitator skill level, and other support required:
- Medium (Computer & other expertise)
Can be used for:
- Showcase product, plan, policy
- Engage community
- Discover community issues
- Communicate an issue
Shopfronts or site offices provide a temporary 'headquarters' where people can come for information or to see and talk to the people who are knowledgeable about or planning around an issue or project.
Shopfronts can produce a better-informed community, and allow people to feel greater ownership of a process, organisation, or community.
- To access participants who are not generally interested in formal participation programs
- To improve public relations
- For convenience
- To facilitate informal participation
- To locate project stakeholders
- Community members may not consider this a legitimate avenue to have a say.
- The shopfronts can be easily targeted by activists.
Organizing Shop Front
How many people to organize?
- Large (> 12 people)
- Medium (2-12 people)
Time required:
- Long (> 6 months)
- Medium (6 weeks-6 months)
Cost:
- Medium (AUD$1,000-AUD$10,000)
- Select a centralized venue that has a lot of passer-by traffic. Usually owners of vacant shops are very happy to lease over short periods of time.
- Select staff/volunteers with strong public relations skills and knowledge of the project and participatory processes (i.e.who will encourage people to chat and discuss issues and be aware of offering different feedback options).
- Provide display materials, printed public information materials, technical reports, maps, photographs etc. that will be provide all sectors of the community with a means to understand the issues or proposals.
- Advertise the variety of opportunities for public participation throughout the participation program.
- Provide a variety of opportunities for feedback, including speaking person-to-person, filling in feedback sheets and contacting email/website addresses.
- Provide adequate seating and consider visitors' comfort (drinks, toilets, childcare, accessibility).
- Staff should record visits to document participation process and to note issues, concerns and suggestions and report these to the organisation/organisers.
References
Description
Shop fronts (or site offices) are attempts to improve participation in programs by bringing a participatory venue into a heavily used public area, such as a main street or shopping centre. They are designed to allow people to drop in at their convenience and therefore display materials are usually provided along with project staff to answer questions. They have a relaxed atmosphere and can act as a semi-permanent meeting place / kitchen table discussion forum so providing refreshments is recommended. Shop fronts run for the duration of a participation program.
While many of the objectives and outcomes of shopfronts are similar to those of an open house, an open house is usually at an existing site or establishment, whereas shopfronts can be set up wherever they will attract the target audience. This may be in the main street, in a shopping centre, or in accommodation that is temporarily rented for the occasion.
This page originally copied with permission from the Citizens Science Toolbox
