LESSONS LEARNED

Grantees were asked to reflect on the grant process and share advice for those who continue this type of work. The following compiles this advice into 3 topics: community engagement, internal capacity building, and advocacy.

BIKE EAST BAY

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LESSONS

Community engagement is always needed. Though there is a desire to move quickly to accomplish ambitious goals, progress must be achieved with residents leading the vision.
Storytelling humanizes the people who use streets. It shares different perspectives and voices, and brings resources to the table. Collecting and preparing stories to publish is often overlooked because it takes a lot of work, so plan accordingly and don’t skimp on it.
Remote/digital engagement also takes a lot of work. It requires supportive partners who are familiar with their communities.
Take time to meet people where they’re at. While a virtual survey can be helpful, nothing could replace conversations with people on the street.
Attending one large festival and having the resources and materials to engage so many people at one event saved significant time that otherwise would have been used to identify and attend many smaller events to reach the same number of people.
Partnering with a trusted community partner is key for reaching community members. They can be a solid base-building force as the backbone of larger civic engagement and issue campaigns.
Adapting to the capacity of community partners and members is key; collaborating with existing events can extend reach and enhance them with your organization's resources.
Building trust and relationships with transportation decision-makers helps communities ensure their needs are heard and shape policies that promote equity.

INTERNAL CAPACITY BUILDING LESSONS

Hiring outreach workers on stipends for shorter periods of time is ideal for 8-12 weeks of work. This way, it doesn’t feel rushed, and people can confidently commit the time.
To grow and serve more people, nonprofit organizations need what any consumer-facing organization needs: for more people to know about it. A well-funded, well-designed campaign can bring in substantial numbers of new participants.
It is important to organize campaigns during a period of overlapping crisis (health, racial, social) that optimize specific strengths, connect with local needs, and empower residents to be advocates.
Utilize data to drive forward impactful advocacy. Investing in data and research operations can strengthened an organization’s role as a thought leader and can enable them to step up as a community resource for other advocates.
Traditionally white and well-resourced organizations can’t rush people past the healing and urgent community work that needs to happen on-the-ground. The trust-building process leads to the best long-term outcomes. Invest in transformational, not transactional relationships.
Financial nimbleness and adaptability in program parameters are key to ensuring project success amid shifting circumstances.
Certain data, such as bus routes and ridership can be a challenge to secure so build into your timelines.
Understand how transit addresses the needs of the community as defined by them, not as presupposed.
Allow more time for survey follow-ups and focus on essential questions. Simplifying the surveys and recruiting university students for assistance could have boosted our response rate.
Federal funding changes can directly impact internal staffing and project timelines, highlighting the need for flexible planning, clear role transitions, and contingency strategies to maintain project momentum during periods of uncertainty.
Staff turnover and onboarding challenges can create capacity limitations, but quickly adapting responsibilities, leveraging partner support, and documenting coordination processes in a living program manual can strengthen internal capacity and ensure continuity for future programs.

ADVOCACY LESSONS

Strategically balancing partnerships with government and holding it accountable can significantly contribute to project success.
Efforts to both partner with and pressure government entities can lead to more equitable transit access, increased community resources, and progress toward climate sustainability.
Deep engagement with non-English-speaking communities, especially within diverse local neighborhoods, is crucial. Focusing on one or two languages at a time, rather than many simultaneously, enhances the effectiveness of these efforts.
Despite a lack of decline in traffic fatalities, advocacy for proven street safety investments must continue.
Public curiosity about transportation alternatives exists, but there is a need for more education on viable solutions and community-based initiatives.
Securing leadership commitments from elected officials and cooperation from city governments can accelerate the implementation of advocacy outcomes.
Success is further supported by thorough campaign planning and pre-existing relationships among coalition members, established well before any awards. Relational work, being long-term and partner-dependent, requires extensive coordination and collaboration, often taking longer than anticipated.
The importance of targeting stakeholders early and frequently for accountability, understanding municipal contractual frameworks, using data-driven advocacy to inform tactics and strategies, and fostering ally alignment to support informed decision-making.
Working with State and Federal agencies is incredibly complicated. The biggest challenges with moving this project forward remain within disagreements between city, state and federal agencies who all have their own needs and priorities.
Formalize concepts with clear visualizations that city agencies can advance.
Building capacity for priority communities to participate and share their stories and building strong relationships with key decision-makers is critical with many powerful interests involved seeking to continue to build highways and not necessarily expand transit service.
Leveraging existing connections and collaborating with agencies makes advocacy more effective and accountable.
Advocates should define objectives that go beyond maintaining the status quo, focusing on improvements in service and fare equity, which are more likely to gain public and political support.
Providing concrete funding proposals enhances coalition credibility and equips allied legislators with actionable policies to champion.
Listening to and elevating the needs of riders and transit workers, especially in smaller communities, can influence legislators in rural or small-city districts to support transit improvements.

LESSONS LEARNED

CONTACT