The public sector is ripe for a reboot! The good news? There's no shortage of global game-changers fearlessly leading the charge. Every month on Public Square: Conversations in Democracy, we spotlight the innovators who are redefining and reinvigorating local democracies around the world.
We discuss everything from emerging democratic technologies to creative community engagement strategies, and other powerful means for social impact. This is a go-to resource for policy-makers, public servants, or anyone interested in the exciting journey toward a more democratic future.
Strong engagement starts at the top: Lessons from Lancaster, with Mayor Sorace
Mayor Danene Sorace discusses how prioritizing resident engagement in Lancaster city government builds trust and integrates community voices into local decision-making, creating a culture of civic participation in this interview.
29 Jan 2025TRANSCRIPT
Partnering with residents on budget priorities in St Louis, with Yusuf Daneshyar
When the City of St Louis lost its much-loved football team, the Rams, the litigation resulted in a $250 million-dollar settlement fund. The city had to decide how to spend it, so they took that decision to the city's residents, in what our guest Yusuf Daneshyar calls an act of “co-legislation”.
Yusuf is the Director of Communications for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Megan E. Green. In this episode, he explains the design and strategy for this public participation process, some of the more surprising – and quite touching – budget priorities chosen by St Louis residents, and the city's long-term vision for legislating in partnership with the public.
#GVPublicSquare
21 Aug 2024TRANSCRIPT
Bottom-up proposals setting the agenda in Copenhagen, with Aja Faurschou Enghoff
The Danish capital Copenhagen recently launched a resident proposals initiative that saw 12,000 residents participate in just 4 months. The project, which is ongoing, has already sparked a number of proposals that have led to changes to the city's policy agenda.
Project Manager Aja Faurschou Enghoff speaks to our host, Wietse Van Ransbeeck, about running an inclusive proposals process that engages a broad range of perspectives while keeping the most vocal minorities in check.
#GVPublicSquare #CommunityEngagement
25 Mar 2024TRANSCRIPT
Humanizing government in New York City - with Adrienne Lever
Bureaucracy can often stand in the way of meaningful connections between communities and the institutions that serve them. But what if there was a way to bridge that gap?
With Adrienne Lever, Director of the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit in New York City (US), we discussed how we can humanize government and build stronger communities, sharing insights on effective approaches to community outreach and its vital role in ensuring access to resources. We also explore the delicate balance between embracing innovation and safeguarding responsible practices within government initiatives.
13 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
Shaping Newham together: Lessons learned from People Powered Places, with Sadia Ur-Rehman and Amélie Pollet
This podcast episode takes us into the heart of London's Borough of Newham, introducing us to the innovative People Powered Places program. Guests Sadia Ur-Rehman and Amélie Pollet, the dynamic duo behind the initiative, talk us through Newham's significant participatory budgeting project of 1.6 mio GBP. In our conversation, Sadia and Amelie discuss their strategies for communicating about project delivery, maintaining close involvement with political leaders, and conducting user testing to co-design processes on our platform.
8 Jan 2024TRANSCRIPT
Building trust & community connections in Viña del Mar
Travel with us to Chile to learn from Nicole Markwick, Co-Coordinator of Citizen Engagement for the Municipality of Viña del Mar. This episode covers everything from the importance of civic education and being connected to community groups, to how governments can use creative outreach tactics and tools like WhatsApp to expand their reach. Nicole also shared how trust building comes with vulnerability both from community members and local governments. Intrigued? Listen in!
11 Dec 2023
Smart cities and AI in Trondheim, with Øyvind Tanum
On this episode, Øyvind Tanum, Head of Smart City for the City of Trondheim, shares some of the ingredients of a strong culture of engagement, how to increase openness and awareness of artificial intelligence (AI) in government, and how digital tools have helped increase the chance of a good engagement experience in Trondheim.
16 Nov 2023
Youth engagement in Antwerp - with Roel Camps
How much of a say should young people have in democracy? And how can local governments effectively reach their younger residents?
Listen in to hear from Roel Camps, the City of Antwerp's Youth Participation Expert. This episode is packed with tips from Antwerp's innovative approach to engaging young people through digital and traditional methods, and also features insights on the incredible results they've been seeing.
25 Oct 2023
National level community engagement in Luxembourg - with Steve Glangé
This episode features Steve Glangé from Luxembourg’s Ministry of Digitalisation and Administrative Reform, talking about community engagement on a national level. Listen in for an enlightening discussion on multilingual engagement, combining online and offline methods, and engaging beyond residents.
19 Sept 2023
Equitable comprehensive planning in Seattle - with Aja Hazelhoff
How do you get people excited about participating in a city’s planning process, especially a long-term comprehensive plan? How can you center equity in your process and your plan?
Listen to Aja Hazelhoff, Outreach and Engagement Coordinator at the City of Seattle's Office of Planning & Community Development, to hear how Seattle approached this important piece of work, and how they partnered with their community to make the process solutions-oriented, reflective, and even joyful!
1 Aug 2023
An introduction to the Public Square - with Wietse Van Ransbeeck
A behind-the-scenes conversation with the host of Public Square: Conversations in Democracy, Wietse Van Ransbeeck, to introduce the podcast and its place in the Civic Tech, GovTech, and participatory democracy sphere.
Inside a recent episode
Strong engagement starts at the top: Lessons from Lancaster, with Mayor Sorace
Published 5 Jun 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] An engagement strategy, it sounds like bureaucratic speak, but really what it comes down to is how are you connecting with your residents? And because I'm one person and there are 60 ,000 people in the city of Lancaster, you have to have a lot of different modalities to do that. And so if somebody just needs their pothole reply, like a pothole fixed or a sidewalk issue addressed, there's a very simple online tool to do that. But if we're having a longer conversation about an infrastructure improvement, a new park, bike lanes, pedestrian safety around schools, then we're probably going to need to have some time in person with one another. […]
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