15 Jun State of Engagement 2026: What This Moment Requires
We recently hosted “The State of Engagement 2026: What This Moment Requires,” bringing together 106 participants alongside our panelists to unpack trends of public engagement. The conversation was honest, urgent, and pointed directly at a compounding set of challenges. We’re seeing deep exhaustion with traditional tactics, a systemic rush toward immediate implementation over thoughtful planning, and budget squeezes that silently erode long-term trust. At the same time, practitioners are navigating a landscape altered by massive events like the 2026 midterm elections and the World Cup alongside structural shifts like evolving federal priorities, the rapid rise of AI, and a complex pushback against foundational concepts like “equity” and “inclusion.”
Our guest speakers, Milzy Carrasco (City of Lancaster, PA), Shoshana Akins (DVRPC), and Tya Winn (Community Design Collaborative), offered valuable insights drawn from their own experiences. In addition to the challenges listed above, they also discussed the changes to digital engagement, and highlighted the importance of flexibility, iteration, and a willingness to innovate on traditional tactics. They also shared perspectives on the changing expectations for engagement, from communities and members of the field alike.
Reflecting on these challenges allows us the opportunity to address them. We provided four takeaways that can be incorporated into the mindset around engagement and outreach design that CtD is also practicing.
Engagement cannot wait to begin at launch → Start earlier to understand context
What does that look like in practice?
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- Invest in early listening and relationship-building
- Ground decisions in what people and groups are experiencing and what matters most to them
- Let groups shape how they want to be engaged
- Tailor approaches based on context, culture, and barriers
At CtD we’re emphasizing our award-winning Phase Zero stage that can help organizations better understand the conditions and lived realities of groups before shaping larger strategies, policies, programs, services, engagement processes, and other key decisions.
Traditional engagement is falling behind → Rethink engagement design and delivery
What does this look like in practice?
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- Design activities around different types of input gathering
- Build accessibility into engagement and reimagine formats for different senses, needs, and sensitivities
- Build from previous engagement instead of starting over
- Increase proactive communication and transparency in decision-making
For CtD, we’re applying this to our service, Engagement Studio, which will support organizations through the full design and delivery of engagement processes to help teams build more thoughtful, creative, and responsive engagement strategies that can evolve as projects evolve.
Communities expect continuity and clarity → Expand strategic capacity
What does this look like in practice?
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- Treat engagement as a strategic function
- Strengthen alignment across teams, projects, and communications
- Build systems for continuity through political shifts, delays, and change
- Connect engagement more directly to decision-making and implementation
- Increase coordination across projects, organizations, and sectors
With CtD as an Engagement Partner, we support as ongoing strategic thought partners to help teams strengthen alignment, coordination across initiatives, navigate changing conditions, and think more long-term about engagement overall.
Participation is impacted by broader realities → Strengthen skills and embed an updated mindset
What does this look like in practice?
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- Build stronger facilitation + conflict navigation skills
- Invest in human-centered communication and create engagement environments that feel more constructive and accessible
- Design with greater awareness of participation barriers
- Strengthen accountability and follow-through
- Support ongoing learning and shared frameworks
CtD will continue to invest in through the growth of our Engagement Academy, where we provide customized trainings, workshops, and learning spaces focused on facilitation, outreach, communication, conflict navigation, and engagement strategy.
We have ideas on how to adapt, but the discussion is far from over. We want to hear from everyone in the engagement and public participation field, including you! The Padlet from the event will remain open, and we invite you to contribute and revisit as the conversation continues. If you missed the webinar, or just want to review, the recording is now available on YouTube. Finally, if you want to connect further with us, reach out to [email protected].
This work can’t be done alone and these shared insights help create stronger and more effective moments of connection across people and projects.