How One KC Voice Works
When you want to be heard, who will listen?
One KC Voice brings citizens together in dialogue through facilitated dicussions that are arranged through a regional Citizen Engagement Network. Other input techniques include workshops, an online discussion forum and surveys. Trained facilitators guide each dialogue, and each public participation event is written and formatted specifically for the topic.
The scale of a project can range from region wide to a single municipality or neighborhood.
The program works with its Advisory Committee to identify relevant public issues, invite the public to community discussions, connect the citizen voice to decisio-making processes, and report results.
OneKCVoice.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan program that brings citizen input to regional decision-making processes. Help us help our region find common ground on important issues. Take action by telling us what matters to you.
Use this site to learn about public issues, cast a vote in current polls, or offer your opinion about regional concerns. Why? Because your comments will be used to help design better local amenities, programs and resources.
We are individual voices shaping a shared future. Join the conversation.
What we do
One KC Voice serves the Kansas City metropolitan area by giving the public a voice in decisions about public issues. Citizen engagement does not simply happen. A community must have institutions that encourage and nurture citizen engagement. Citizens need a clear means to express their opinions on the issues that affect them. One KC Voice works with other organizations to provide that process.
One KC Voice mission
The mission of One KC Voice is to develop a community culture that values and invites citizen participation as an integral part of community decision-making and to offer the region a variety of methods to accomplish this goal.
Guiding principles
The following principles guide the work of One KC Voice:
- Be a neutral convener and honest broker for discussion across the metropolitan region.
- Connect the public voice with public decision making.
- Engage under-represented communities.
- Make resources available for local use.
- Provide safe places for community discussion.
- Respect all voices in the community.
- Make all actions and discussions transparent.
- Insist that public involvement comes early and that sufficient time is available for dialogue.
Who's in charge
The base for One KC Voice is a metro-wide alliance of civic organizations from which the Advisory Committee is drawn. The Mid-America Regional Council serves as the managing partner, fiscal agent and incubator for One KC Voice. Steering committees and ad hoc partnerships are organized to provide direction on specific projects or policy issues. One KC Voice relies on grants, contracts, fees for service, donations and foundation support