When drafting tool descriptions, you want to be clear about the following:
Why you are asking for contributions
What you will do with the insights gained from contributions
How your community members can contribute
In this article, you’ll find some sample content you can adapt to your surveys, ideas, places, and Q&A tools.
Survey
Help [insert your organization] understand community views about [insert issue or topic], so we can consider your opinions and priorities for [insert consultation name]. Please review the [linked planning document] and take 10 minutes to complete the survey.
By completing this survey, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Your feedback will be consolidated and published in reports and online, but all personal details will remain private.
Submissions close at [time and date].
Ideas
Welcome to the [insert your community] Ideas Board!
We want to hear all your ideas, suggestions, and comments about this consultation!
Please take some time to:
Post your own ideas by selecting the New Post button
Comment on other people's ideas by selecting the Add comment button
Vote for ideas you love by hitting the thumbs-up icon
We request that you are respectful in your posts and comments, keeping in mind that this is a shared space, and everyone has the right to contribute in a safe environment.
Idea posting will be open until [time and date], after which we have a scheduled voting period of two weeks.
Places
We need to know which [areas/issues/routes] need improvement, and we want you to tell us.
Place a pin on our interactive map and answer a couple of questions, so we can determine the priority areas in this community.
Click through the existing posts to hear what your neighbors are saying and hit the New Pin button to center your pin in the visible map area. To help us prioritize, you can choose from these pin categories:
Red = Urgent work needed immediately
Orange = We need to prioritize this for next quarter
Yellow = Work is necessary, but not top priority
Green = I have a suggestion for future projects
Your comments and pins are displayed publicly, but personal details will be hidden.
Submissions close at [time and date]. If you need assistance, please check out the instructions in the Help section.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Q&A
Do you have a question about [insert consultation name]? Ask us below, and we'll answer as promptly as possible. You may also find your answer by browsing existing questions or our FAQs section.
Please be respectful in your questions and patient as you await a response. This Q&A is monitored by our Engagement Team from Monday-Friday 9am - 4pm, and we typically respond within 3 business days.
If your question is sensitive, we may choose to answer privately, but most questions and their answers will be posted publicly below.