Our Values at Work - Connect The Dots
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graphic of 5 team members and the 5 values, Impact-Driven, Inclusive, Creative, People-first, Transparent

06 Dec Our Values at Work

Posted at 15:25h in Insights, Team by
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Connect the Dots is celebrating 5 years in Philadelphia, and it’s got us feeling reflective and excited about what’s ahead. We asked our team to share something they’re proud of, something they’re excited about, and something they’d love to do more of in the future. The cool part? Every answer ties back to one of the five values that shape our work. Check out what they had to say and how it all connects!

Matt, Associate: I’m excited to continue meaningful conversations like what I’ve experienced during Focus Groups I helped to facilitate for the Montco2050 Comprehensive Plan and the King of Prussia Community Connect projects. Each of those focus groups had very specific topics to discuss and each conversation was engaging and enlightening.

Impact-Driven: We connect engagement interactions to key decision points so participants see their input reflected in the results.

 


David, Associate: I’m looking forward to designing more inclusive engagement strategies that create opportunities for all learning types like the “Living Room” concept where participants can sit down and have more relaxed conversations in a space with softer furniture, plants, and colorful pillows. Or incorporating roving refreshment carts that are great for engaging more extroverted participants that like to chat around food.

Inclusive: We create access to opportunities for input to ensure community representation, with a special consideration for marginalized voices.

 

Sophia, Senior Associate: It’s the holidays right now, and we can be super creative with events like using candy canes, hot chocolate, snowflakes, and trees. For a project in Johnstown, PA we engaged with the community for the redesign of the CamTran Transit Center and made a traveling “jolly” cart decorated with twinkle lights and served hot chocolate and passed out candy canes for a series of pop-ups to gather input.

Creative: We design approachable, memorable interactions tailored for the community context so we can meet people where they are.

 

Meg, Senior Project Manager: I’m new to Connect the Dots, and coming back to Philly after not living here for a while so I’m really excited to get to know different neighborhoods across the city on my projects that are in West Philly, Chinatown, and North Philly and better connect and build relationships with community members and community partners in those neighborhoods.

People-first: We respect community members, focusing on building trust through accountability, authenticity, and reciprocity.

 

Stephanie, Project Manager: We’re constantly reimagining how to make information more accessible so communities feel more comfortable and welcomed into the participatory process. Too much information at once can be hard to digest so a lot of our work is translating big complex ideas into digestible ones that are easier for the public to understand.

Transparent: We provide clear, accessible information, giving participants insight and involvement in the process itself and circling back to show outcomes.

Discover how we recently were awarded the 2024 IAP2 USA Core Values Award for Creativity and Innovation—read the full story here!