Why the IAP2 Spectrum should be your North Star for community engagement

BY SUSANNE BANKHEAD

If you’ve ever launched a community engagement effort, whether it's a public meeting, survey or pop up outreach event, you’ve likely wrestled with deceptively simple question: 

How much impact does community input have on the decision-making process?

Too often, engagement efforts fall flat not because the intentions were off, but because no one stopped to define the community's role up front. That’s where the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation comes in and acts as your north star, helping you navigate the complex, and sometimes uncertain, public engagement planning process.

At JPW Communications, we’ve seen firsthand how using this spectrum as a strategic tool—not just a graphic in a presentation deck—can prevent headaches, avoid public backlash and bring clarity to internal teams who, let's be honest, don't always agree on what "engagement" actually means.

Here’s why the IAP2 Spectrum should be your go-to-framework when planning community engagement:

It brings clarity to purpose.

The spectrum outlines five levels of public participation: Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, and Empower, each tied to a specific promise to the public. By choosing the right level early in the process, teams avoid one of the most common mistakes we see: overpromising and underdelivering.

Quick example:

• If your goal is to Inform, don’t position your effort as “shaping the future together.”

• If you’re asking the community to Collaborate, be ready to share decision-making power with the public.

The takeaway here is the earlier you clarify the purpose of your engagement efforts, the better the experience for everyone.

It sets expectations (and builds trust).

The spectrum isn’t just for internal alignment—it’s a tool for transparency. When you communicate the public’s role clearly and honestly, people are far more likely to show up, participate meaningfully and trust the process—even if they don’t agree with the final outcome.

Pro tip: Incorporate the spectrum into your public meeting slides, handouts or web pages. Let residents know exactly how their input will (or won’t) be used. It helps set the tone from the start.

 It aligns internal teams (a.k.a. herds the cats).

If you’ve ever tried to get engineers, planners and leadership to agree on an engagement plan, you know it can feel like herding cats. The IAP2 Spectrum gives everyone—from project managers to communications staff—a shared language and framework. When we use it early in project planning, it saves time, reduces friction and brings focus to internal discussions. Everyone knows what’s on the table and what’s not, long before we schedule the public meeting or send the survey.

It helps prevent backlash.

Public frustration often stems from a mismatch in expectations. When community members think they’re being asked to Collaborate on a decision, but then find out all the decisions were already made, trust takes a hit. We've seen public agencies earn long-term goodwill and trust simply by being honest about the influence public input will have on key decisions. The spectrum helps you do that, clearly and consistently.

 It’s scalable to your needs.

Whether you’re seeking community input on a new brand for your agency, conducting outreach for a major infrastructure project or rate adjustments, or simply hosting a single public workshop, the IAP2 Spectrum provides a common language and structure for public participation at any scale. As demand for meaningful public engagement grows, the Spectrum is evolving too. In fact, IAP2 recently launched a global review to explore how the tool can continue meeting the needs of modern engagement practitioners.

Bottom Line: Don’t just check a box. Use the Spectrum with purpose.

The IAP2 Spectrum isn’t a buzzword or box to check—it’s a strategic tool and guiding north star in the dark and murky skies of public engagement. When used with purpose, it helps agencies and their partners plan more thoughtfully, act more transparently, and earn the trust that's essential to building lasting relationships with the communities they serve.

A note from the author:

I was proud to represent IAP2 USA as part of the international Sensemaking Committee guiding this process. Together, we identified potential changes that will help make this foundational tool even more relevant and powerful for everyday uses by decision-makers across the world. We'll share more on those changes once they are released.