Resources
Best Practices for Meaningful Community Engagement (PDF)
Tips for Engaging Historically Underrepresented Populations in Visioning and Planning
Beyond the Usuals: Ideas to Encourage Broader Public Engagement in Community Decision Making (PDF)
Important steps to make sure you get a broad range of participation, and not just the usual suspects, to your public engagement efforts.
Minnesota Civic Engagement Plan 2016 (PDF)
A diverse group of citizens and government officials have taken the first step in making the vision of authentic meaningful engagement a reality for all in Minnesota in developing this strategic plan.
Minnesota Department of Health Translation Toolkit (PDF)
This toolkit provides resources and best practices for staff to consider when having materials translated into other languages.
Tips for Increasing Access for Participation by People with Disabilities
This tip sheet outlines general guidelines for increasing access to local government meetings and events for people with disabilities.
Minnesota IT Services’ Office of Accessibility
Oversees the implementation of accessibility standards for Minnesota’s executive branch to provide resources that state ensure applications, websites, and documents are accessible for everyone. At their website you can find multiple ideas about accessibility that improves citizen engagement.
Making Virtual Meetings Accessible
Walks you through planning and holding meetings that ensure effective and inclusive remote meetings. Included are tools, rules and links to valuable resources.
A Toolkit for Planning Accessible Meetings and Events (PDF)
A comprehensive guide produced by the American Bar Association.
Minnesota HR/LR Policy #1358 (PDF)
Covers the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II. This State of Minnesota policy was adopted in July, 2019.
Additional related resources include:
Minnesota Guide to Assistive Technology
STAR Program
AT3 Center
Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans
The Equity Impact Note (PDF)
A tool created by the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs to assess legislation and policy with an equity lens.
Voices for Racial Justice
A non-profit organization based in Minneapolis whose mission is to advance racial, cultural, social, and economic justice in Minnesota through organizer and leadership training, strategic convenings and campaigns, and research and policy tools.
The Resource Library for Advancing Health Equity in Public Health
From Minnesota Department of Health, this includes tools for diversity, equity and inclusion; managing unconscious bias; a webinar focuses on using Results-Based Accountability (RBA) to advance racial equity; and more.
Intercultural Development Inventory
A tool used by some state agencies, this cross-cultural assessment of intercultural competence aims to help build intercultural competence to achieve international and domestic diversity and inclusion goals and outcomes.
Project Implicit
A free online test to help in recognizing implicit bias is provided by Harvard’s Project Implicit, a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition - thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. Note: Harvard and other universities, as well as the individual researchers who have contributed to the site, make no claim for the validity of these suggested interpretations.
The Wilder Foundation
The Wilder Foundation is committed to addressing complex challenges that will advance equity in Saint Paul and across Minnesota. In our Community Initiatives, Wilder works alongside community collaboratively, crafting solutions that impact systems, organizations, communities and individuals.
Citizens League
The Citizens League is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that empowers people to engage in
civic life and public policy to make Minnesota a better place to live and work for everyone.
Minnesota Tribal Nations
The United States and the State of Minnesota have a unique legal relationship with federally recognized Tribal Nations, as affirmed by the Constitution of the United States, treaties, statutes, and case law. The State of Minnesota shares geography with eleven federally recognized, sovereign Tribal Nations with elected or appointed Tribal Governments.
To work together effectively , state and local government must work with Tribal Nations government to government rather than government to stakeholder as occurs with community groups, businesses and others. This process is known as consultation. Each state agency has a Tribal Consultation Policy to guide Tribal-State relations.
Consultation is a formal process between heads of State and Tribal governments to communicate, coordinate and collaborate on priority issues that may affect Tribal Nations and their members with the goal of achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. In addition to formal consultation, state and local government should communicate, coordinate, and collaborate with the staff of tribal nations.
Resources for Tribal Consultation, Coordination, and Collaboration
Executive Order 19-24 (PDF)
Affirming the Government to Government Relationship between the State of Minnesota and Minnesota Tribal Nations: Providing for Consultation, Coordination, and Cooperation – legal document guiding Tribal-State relations
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC)
MIAC serves as the official liaison between Tribal Nations and the State of Minnesota. On their webpage you can learn more about the eleven tribal nations, cultural resources, where to attend a MIAC meeting and more.
Tribal Liaisons
Each state agency has a dedicated Tribal Liaison who helps facilitate positive and productive tribal-state relations.
Tribal State Relations Training
Provides training and education for Minnesota state employees about American Indian tribal governments, histories, cultures and traditions, in order to empower state employees to work effectively with American Indians and promote authentic and respectful relationships between state agencies and American Indian tribes.
Why Treaties Matter
To better understand the treaties that establish government to government relations. The project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Tribal Nations, The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, Minnesota Humanities Center, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.
