EMPOWERING CITY COMMUNICATORS
Kristin leads a communications workshop at the National League of Cities’ 2019 Congressional City Conference.
At What Works Cities, Kristin designed curricula, created resources, and led professional development opportunities for city staff and chief executives seeking to build stronger trust with their communities by improving their approach to public communication. All curricula aligned with criteria she developed as part of What Works Cities’ Certification program—the national standard of excellence for well-managed, data-driven local governments—to set the bar for how cities and their chief executives should publicly communicate their work and impact.
Communicating with a “What Works” State of Mind: 7 Practices of Cities Leading the Way
A resource outlining seven best practices being used by cities and leaders that are effectively communicating their progress to residents. The practices form the foundation of the communications curricula Kristin designed for What Works Cities.
Telling Your “What Works” Story: Effective Communications Examples from Cities
The storytelling toolkit is expansive, but cities don’t always know how to use it. Intended to spark ideas and inspiration for cities, this guide contains examples of effective storytelling, both large and small, including social media, owned media, earned media, public appearances, and more.
Communication as Pollination: Helping Your Local Gov Work Flower
A Q&A about Kristin’s work, this resource covers the value proposition of communications for local governments, why cities are often reluctant to share their work, how they can overcome those concerns, and more.
COMMS FOR CITIES SPRINT
A four-week online course for cities participating in the What Works Cities initiative. The course explored why effective communication matters, introduced best practices in the field, and looked at examples of how other cities are sharing their progress. Participants were introduced to a range of communications tools and brainstormed ways to start using them in their own city.
COMMS FOR CITIES: CHIEF EXECUTIVES edition SPRINT
A four-week online course for cities participating in the What Works Cities initiative. Chief executives’ public commitment to using data is one of the strongest predictors of a city’s success in building a well-managed local government. That’s because leaders are uniquely positioned to set, drive, and build support for a strategic vision. This course focused on empowering staff and chief executives alike to spark change by leveraging public communication at the highest level of local government leadership.
Workshops
Kristin delivered communications workshops at conferences for leading organizations in the civic space, including the National League of Cities and Code for America.
Workshops Shouldn’t Feel Like Work: Learnings from the Field
Kristin was invited to share her approach to developing learning opportunities for local government leaders, alongside panelists from OECD, the University of Texas, and elsewhere, at an event hosted by the City of Austin’s Office of Design & Delivery during SXSW. She shared insights from the work she has led at What Works Cities, and also discussed how her days as a university writing center tutor have influenced that work. Writing center pedagogy has a central tenet about making better writers, not better papers. Her focus now is to make better communicators, understanding that better communications products will follow.
