EngagingPlans offered a wide variety of tools to use in our comprehensive plan update process. We are particularly excited that we can engage a broad spectrum of citizens more efficiently and cost effectively than ever before. The customer service and tech support we have received from Urban Interactive Studio has been prompt and very helpful.
Jim May, AICP, Director at Centre Regional Planning Agency
EngagingPlans is robust and feature rich, providing all the tools you need to share key information about your projects with the public. It includes a broad array of online engagement activities, including:
Facilitating online feedback doesn’t have to be difficult and time-consuming. Receive notifications about new comments right in your email inbox, and decide whether or not they require further action. Users help keep the conversation on track by “self-facilitating” comments and feedback.
EngagingPlan’s home page features an interactive timeline that automatically centers on the current trend. Along with the project phases you create, EngagingPlans automatically shows your events and meetings to give participants a clear understanding of where your project is.
EngagingPlans provides intuitive, easy-to-navigate maps – without the need for special configurations or expensive integrations with third-party mapping tools. Add your information by simply uploading your KML file. Easily export the collected data and analyze it using your preferred GIS tools.
Smartphones are rapidly becoming the preferred way of accessing the Internet for many citizens. EngagingPlans Pro offers an iPhone App-inspired mobile theme that is automatically displayed to visitors when they access the website from their mobile phone. Combined with QR codes that are automatically available for every page or engagement activity, this allows you to share your content, updates and feedback opportunities right onsite in the neighborhoods you are targeting.
EngagingPlans makes it easy to add, update, and control all site content from a centralized dashboard. Through this user-friendly interface, you can populate content and update navigation elements throughout the site, typically by completing a short form. So, project timelines, event calendars, blogs, and other areas of your site can be kept up-to-date at all times, with little effort. From the dashboard, you can also closely moderate comments and discussions, to ensure that only appropriate content is posted.
Social media is an integral part of today’s outreach strategies, and EngagingPlans enables you to take advantage of today’s most popular vehicles. All shareable content has social media "Like" and "Share" buttons to make sure your audience can easily spread the news with their peers on Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
With EngagingPlans, your data is fully protected at all times. Varying levels of user access allow you to limit privileges based on role. Spam protection keeps discussions on track, and makes it easy to manage contact forms. And, automatic back-ups enable you to restore an earlier version of your site immediately.
Fully customized Websites can be time-consuming and expensive, yet the communication requirements for planning projects are often complex and require some level of customization. That’s why EngagingPlans offers a smart design model. In addition to providing extensive out-of-the-box functionality, it can also be easily custom-tailored to address unique or specific public communication needs you may have.
