When consultants are engaged to support public participation activities, MARC expects engagement efforts to align with the principles, standards, and goals established in this Public Participation Plan. Consultants should be viewed as partners in advancing meaningful community engagement rather than solely fulfilling contractual requirements.
To ensure consistency and accountability, MARC has clearly defined public engagement expectations in an attachment to be included in Requests for Proposals/Qualifications and consultant agreements (Appendix B). Within project scopes of work, consultants are expected to perform the following:
- Engagement Scoping Meeting completed with MARC before engagement begins.
- Written Engagement Strategy submitted and approved.
- Stakeholder List maintained as a project deliverable.
- MARC branding and Public Affairs review integrated into outreach for direct MARC activities.
- Consultants are expected to use the Community Engagement Checklist provided by MARC staff.
- Final Engagement Outcomes Documentation identifying who participated, what was heard, and how input informed decisions (can be separate report or integrated into final deliverable).
Consultants conducting outreach on behalf of MARC should follow MARC branding, communications and digital accessibility requirements. Public-facing engagement materials should clearly identify MARC's role in the project and be coordinated with appropriate MARC staff.