On March 31, 2021, e-smartec partner CC-SUM - State of Hessen organised a hands-on training on marketing and engagement techniques.
The training helped representatives of Hessian municipalities understanding and using marketing techniques and marketing methods during the implementation of a SUMP, thus increasing the participation of citizens and stakeholders.
Getting to know the participants
Participants to Hessen’s first Stakeholder Event as well as municipalities representatives were invited to the training (13 municipalities, 11 final attendees). According to the pre-traning survey apt to divide them into different groups on the basis of their experience with SUMPs, participants highlighted that:
- many had never worked on a SUMP,
- only few had already worked (either consciously or unconsciously) in participatory processes,
- none had experience with marketing techniques.
Get the material translated if you want local authorities to use it!
Before the event, all participants received a tangible overview of the SUMP cycle, the “SUMP fan”, the German version of the marketing and engagement cards, as well as a diary and pen for notes before the meeting. In addition, they received an email with the “Handbook for success tips on marketing techniques” (in English).
The experience of the CC-SUM team with the translation of the SUMP Guidelines into German showed that the provision of materials in the first language and its availability as a printed version are both relevant factors for a successful application of the training's teachings, as these allow attendees to become familiar with the content beforehand and make them better equipped to apply the gained knowledge during the fictitious participation process.
Training day
On the training day itself, CC-SUM introduced its team, the e-smartec project and the agenda for the training, including its theoretical part. Based on this information, an interactive session was arranged to let the participants apply this knowledge by planning a fictitious participation process within the SUMP cycle. The exercise focused on the macro-strategic policy objectives of strengthening citizen participation in mobility planning processes and offering respective capacity building skills to municipalities.
Participants were divided into three groups (A, B, C): only group B managed to develop a participation process for all four SUMP phases based on the training cards, whereas groups A and C built up a participation process only for the first two SUMP phases.
Feedback
The cards on marketing methods and techniques are a great and very well designed tool. The scope of the training, the number of participants and the training itself were perfect.
According to the results of the closure survey, most of the participants expanded their knowledge of the SUMP and participatory processes and felt like the examples presented were useful, but suggested to add more regional examples in the future, too. Other participants suggested to provide less topics and more time to work on them. The overall feedback, however, was incredibly positive.
Read the press release for a snappy summary!