KOA is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all those we serve, including the public, our clients, and our staff. We have implemented guidelines for our public outreach and engagement efforts moving forward during these unprecedented times.
We want to be mindful of the outreach process and have recognized two questions to consider:
Can the project proceed with public/stakeholder engagement happening at a different time in the project schedule and/or with a different approach? Note: To avoid cancelling or delaying current project tasks, KOA will be utilizing alternative strategies in our approach while still continuing to provide quality work to our clients and the communities we are serving
- If conducting outreach activities at a later date (2-3 months from now) is a viable and preferable option, then the task should be postponed until further notice
- If a project has to proceed with outreach due to scheduling constraints, then proceed to next question
How will a modified online engagement approach impact public participation and project input?
KOA understands and acknowledges that public participation in project outreach efforts may look very different with online engagement-only strategies. Older community members, households or residents with unreliable internet service, and non-English speaking participants are among the groups that may have a difficult time participating. However, given the limitations, it may be advisable to proceed using online engagement tools, but also plan to conduct additional, in-person outreach to underrepresented groups at a later date.
