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Step 6: Publish findings and provide an initial response to priorities

“Cities happen to be problems in organized complexity, like the life sciences. They present ‘situations in which a half-dozen or even several dozen quantities are all varying simultaneously and in subtly interconnected ways.’ Cities, again like the life sciences, do not exhibit one problem in organized complexity, which if understood explains all. They can be analyzed into many such problems or segments which, as in the case of the life sciences, are also related with one another. Their variables are many, but they are not helter-skelter; they are ‘interrelated into an organic whole.’” 
- Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities

“We must build a new narrative that places people at the center of development.” 
- Amina Mama, Nigerian scholar and activist

Summary:

  • Findings are shared internally within the local authority to generate a series of initial responses (or solutions) to feedback.  Findings will be reported back to the public, and the general contents of that report – including advice on how to visualize and present the data – are provided alongside real-life examples.

At the start of this step, you should already have designed and implemented your data collection methodology, and now results have begun to come in. This section shares lessons on data analysis, provides troubleshooting advice if data collection is not going as planned and offers suggestions on how to know if you have collected enough data.

Signpost Question

Will we be able to act on the feedback and update the public in a timely manner? 

At this stage of the process, your team will develop an initial strategy or response based on your findings and report back to the public to inform them of the results and kick off a dialogue on next steps. 

To report back to the public, the team will need an initial strategy that the municipality can deliver. This means the team will need to engage key stakeholders within the municipality to present the report of relevant feedback collected in Step 5, discuss the feasibility of potential solutions responding to feedback, and then consider the costs, timelines and other factors necessary for delivering those responses. 

In short – there will need to be an internal discussion and process within the municipal administration and key stakeholders before an external, public publication. The complexity of and time needed for this internal process will depend on your context and is discussed next.