What We Learned from Early Online Participation
Originally published in 2015 — refreshed in 2025 as part of Polco’s Rethinking Budgeting series.
Ten years ago, Balancing Act was launched with a bold idea: make public budgeting more accessible, engaging, and participatory. At the time, most community input still happened the old-fashioned way—at sparsely attended public meetings, where a few voices filled the room and decisions were often made with limited feedback.
And while those meetings still happen, so much has changed.
This article captures a snapshot of the civic engagement landscape in 2015—a time when terms like “Gov 3.0” were just gaining traction, and online participation was more the exception than the norm.
Here’s what we believed then—and what we still believe now, with even more evidence to back it up.
The Limits of Traditional Engagement
Public meetings can be valuable. But in 2015, many government leaders were already frustrated with the format. A survey of California public sector officials at the time found:
- 66% said public meetings were dominated by narrow agendas.
- 40% said they did little to help residents understand government trade-offs.
These are problems that still resonate today.
Back then, even with all the right pieces in place—promotion, experts, live polling—events still struggled to capture the breadth of community voice. And while tools like Textizen and SeeClickFix were beginning to bring civic feedback into the mobile age, they lacked the depth required for nuanced conversations like budgeting.
Why Online Engagement was -and Still is - a Game Changer
When we launched Balancing Act, we weren’t trying to replace in-person dialogue. We were trying to expand it. We knew that most residents can’t show up to a weeknight meeting. And we knew that most budgets are too complex for a comment card or a tweet.
So we built something different.
Balancing Act’s interactive budget simulations gave residents a way to explore real budget scenarios—adjust spending, raise or lower revenue, and see the trade-offs in real time. It gave government leaders data-rich insights into public priorities. It also made budgeting—dare we say—fun.
What We Got Right—and What’s Evolved
What we believed then is still true today: public engagement must move from "informing" to "empowering" if we want meaningful community input. We cited the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation then, and it remains a guiding framework today.
But what’s changed is the scale, sophistication, and integration of tools.
Today, Balancing Act lives inside the broader Polco platform, alongside data dashboards (Track), benchmark surveys, AI assistants like Polly and Grace, and full-fledged resident engagement ecosystems. We’ve gone from “let residents weigh in on the budget” to “help communities make informed, data-driven decisions—together.”
Looking Ahead: From Historical Insight to Future Practice
These early reflections serve as a time capsule—a reminder of how far local government has come in embracing digital engagement. They also remind us that the basics still matter: reach more people, listen deeply, and use tools that build trust.
The forums may change. The technology will keep evolving. But the goal is still the same:
Make government more inclusive, more transparent, and more responsive—one decision at a time.
Explore Polco's Simulation Tools >>
