Public Problem-Solving at the Moment and in the Future

People with real needs are still too hard to reach in a digital era,[2] for example, the online discussion forum. Traditional public engagement forms such as in-person workshops, interviews, and focus groups can better involve people with less access to digital devices and the internet; multilingual problem descriptions and interpreters can help people speak different languages better understand the problem and address their opinions; a well-designed website with accessibility functions can allow people with disabilities to participate as well. For example, the Census 2020 campaign is well-designed despite the impact of COVID-19. Online advertising with different languages on social media, print posters around the neighborhoods, in-person introduction, and even the message in the fortune cookie from the local Chinese restaurant takeout helped to reach a broader audience. Though the online survey is encouraged, there still exists mail-in options and phone surveys.

In addition to mass public participation, an expert network will greatly help with problem-solving. We want to connect with the expert that we know in this problem-solving process, expand our network through these connections and discover more experts in the crowd to learn from their expertise, especially what worked and what didn’t work in their past experience.[3] It will help us avoid falling into the same trap at different problem-solving stages.

Lastly, it’s important to acknowledge the public contribution to the policymaking process. We need to let the public know that we extremely value their help in the problem-solving process, maybe through a monthly project progress update with a thank you section, and how we used the information to form the solution, such as publicizing the aggregated survey result.

Provide a clear challenge statement and help facilitate the definition of an actionable problem to make an actual impact. [4]

A public problem is usually complex because of the dimensions involved in the urban context, which could range from history, culture, infrastructure designed, existing policy, accessibility and etc. Public participation in problem definition exposes us to various reasons why a problem exists and rules out root causes. However, we need to find an actionable one to take the hands-on, especially given very time and budget constraints. Sometimes the public is willing to help but they need a more clearly defined and framed challenge to apply their knowledge in technology and creativity to solve it. When the citizens see they are making an actual impact, they will be more motivated and fulfilled.

A good example will be the NYCx Co-Labs, a civic innovation program. It bridges the government agencies, industry partners, and the public to create a solution to urban issues. For instance, for the Housing Rights Challenge, the lab-created a comprehensive challenge manual [5] to provide the context, and market analysis, and provided feedback on the team’s problem definition and implementation.