Town Hall Meeting on Pandemic Flu (Traditional Model)



Pandemic Flu Town Hall Meeting Models

Traditional Town Hall Meeting[1]

A Town Hall meeting is a large gathering of people (e.g., 50 or more) who wish to speak about a specific issue and listen to other people's comments. Town Hall meetings vary in format from having no structure to having a fairly rigid structure with specific topics discussed. We recommend structured meetings for the most substantive results. Town Hall meetings along will not in and of themselves resolve issues but are a good first step toward identifying important issues. They are often used for developing a foundation for additional discussions.

Purpose: A Town Hall meeting on pandemic flu can serve several purposes: 1) Give individuals an opportunity to express their views. 2) Engage those who might not otherwise seek out information about pandemic flu, and cultivate new leaders. 3) Provide an opportunity for people to become involved in pandemic flu issues -- those who have been working on pandemic preparedness may explain the importance of the issue and invite participants to join their efforts for addressing challenges. 4) Provide an opportunity for groups of individuals who have been having dialogues on related issues involved to come together, report, and to learn from each other's experiences. 5) Begin the process of changing attitudes and behaviors.

Meeting structure: A Town Hall meeting generally lasts from 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours. The meeting should have a dialogue leader. The dialogue leader sets initial ground rules, summarizes comments made and builds understanding among participants. The dialogue leader also can play a crucial role in welcoming diverse points of view in reminding the audience to respect opposing views.

The meeting may be structured in a variety of ways. Some of the options are to begin with a an interview of one person by another, a conversation between two people, or a discussion with a number of people on stage and then open the discussion to comments and questions from the audience. If your goal is to encourage participation by those who would not usually participate in pandemic-preparedness events, consider featuring a prominent individual at the Town Hall meeting who people believe would be interesting or whose views on health emergency preparedness are provocative, entertaining, or otherwise interesting. This individual would share his or her views on preparedness and respond to comments from the audience.

It is important to have people representing a wide variety of viewpoints participating in and attending the Town Hall meeting. Outreach to those who might not normally participate in preparedness activities is particularly important.

Some possible outcomes: Positive outcomes from a Town Hall meeting may include the following:

▪ Commit to holding on-going dialogues on your community in small groups that provide more opportunity for thoughtful discussion and exchange of ideas.

▪ Organize dialogues and other events (such as community service events) that can help to foster collaboration and enhance individual and family pandemic preparedness.

▪ Recruitment of community volunteers for a speakers’ bureau or to participate in other awareness activities, such as “brown bag” seminars at libraries or other community gathering places.

Disadvantages:

▪ Issues may be framed by a small group of “grandstanders.”

▪ A number of people will not have a chance to speak which they may find frustrating. You may want to provide additional or alternate opportunities for people to state their opinions, e.g., provide comment cards and a drop box at the event, and/or provide a web page to receive additional questions and comments.

ALTERNATIVE #1: Electronic (Televised) Town Hall Meeting

This is an alternative to the traditional Town Hall Meeting model, and has the benefit of allowing the majority of individuals to “attend” the session in the comfort of their own homes. The goals of this forum are to enlighten, empower, and encourage community pandemic preparedness. To use this model, it is necessary enlist the cooperation of one or more television or cable stations in your region. A major newspaper could be enlisted as a co-sponsor to generate additional news coverage.

During the Town Hall meeting, a Moderator (e.g., anchor or the station’s health reporter) will seek answers and provoke strategies from a group of diverse experts and opinion leaders. The panelists will be surrounded by a studio audience of 100-150 people, capable of adding their responses to the content. The two-plus-hour ad-lib discussions will be videotaped, then edited to 60-90 minutes and broadcast at a later date. Recordings of the edited session (DVDs, videotapes) can be distributed to the regional public through local libraries, community groups, schools, etc.

To attract an audience for the original telecast, it is important to conduct collateral marketing and outreach activities, such as on-air promos, print and radio ads, flyers and other informational materials. Follow up strategies such as a web page to receive additional questions or comments and/or to stream video from the meeting will extend the life of the event. Consideration could be given to developing and printing a Viewers’ Guide to elaborate and reinforce important pandemic related issues that are presented during the televised Town Hall meeting.* [2]

Advantages:

▪ Wider reach

▪ Ease of “attendance”

▪ More potential for “earned media”

▪ True “buy-in” from media as a pandemic preparedness partner

Disadvantages:

▪ If the meeting does not go well, negative publicity may be exponentially increased when it is presented on air.

▪ It is likely you will little input in how the program is edited.

ALTERNATIVE #2: Open House

Purpose: To engage a public audience in a structured dialogue that allows for one-on-one or small group discussions. This format can be used exclusively or in conjunction with others; for example, following a large group presentation or following repeating small group presentations.

Suggested activities and setup:

▪ Multiple tables/ display areas within one large room (school auditorium, community hall) or in adjacent rooms, for example a series of classrooms in a hall.

▪ Poster and or tabletop displays. Program staff (agency representatives, local groups or organizations, etc.) should be stationed at each display to greet and talk with meeting attendees. Provide handouts, copies of reports, brochures, maps that can help facilitate questions and discussion with attendees.

▪ Provide sign-in table at entrances and handouts with details on which groups are represented, topics they are covering, and meeting layout (handout with floor plan of meeting area(s). Staff should be stationed at each sign-in area to help direct attendees. If the stations are located in more than one room, place signage in front of each room announcing who is inside and the subject being covered.

▪ Advertise event in advance (at least one-month in advance for public notice; mailed meeting announcements at least two-weeks in advance).

▪ Post signs and directional information for meeting in areas outside/inside building, especially near building entrances and parking areas.

▪ Consider using evaluation/ feedback forms with drop box at exit areas for people who may not have been able (or not willing) to discuss topics.

Advantages:

▪ Can provide an informal setting for attendees to interact with multiple groups or people.

▪ Allows for flexible scheduling so the public can attend at their convenience. An open house can start in the daytime and continue into the evening. All promotional materials should clearly state that people may come anytime and leave anytime.

▪ Can accommodate a large number of attendees since meeting is open and held over a period of hours.

▪ Works best when people have some advance knowledge and can use this forum to learn more. In cases when people are coming in “cold” it may be helpful to offer a general briefing, with some key overview messages. This can be done in a number of ways – as a live presentation scheduled periodically throughout the open house, as a small group discussion with a number of people as they come through the door (with a number of “briefers”) or as a video or DVD showing continuously (the way they do it in museums).

▪ Is more conducive to topics that are sensitive or controversial. Issues can be addressed with small numbers of people at one time; many are more comfortable asking questions in this setting.

▪ Is a way to reduce “grandstanding”; it is more difficult for people who have a personal agenda to disrupt this type of event than the more traditional plenary session approach.

Disadvantages:

▪ Staff intensive - considerable setup, advance planning and on site staffing required.

NON-TOWN HALL MEETING ALTERNATIVE: Mini Summit

Purpose: To engage a public audience in a structured dialogue that allows for agenda-specific small group discussions with stakeholders, rather than the general public. Attendees can be preparedness partners, e.g. first responders, non-governmental agencies, trade/industry associations, Chambers of Commerce, etc., and/or community opinion leaders.

Format: Generally, the summit will open with a plenary session to establish objectives for the event and to provide encompassing information to educate participants on issues to be covered. The majority of the day will be spent in concurrent break-out sessions to address specific issues, followed by a closing plenary, out-brief, and “next steps” discussion. Because many common issues will need to be covered, in addition to stakeholder-specific concerns, a “round-robin” approach in which Subject Matter Leads rotate through all break-out sessions throughout the day to provide information and hear and address concerns should be considered. While not truly a “town meeting,” a mini summit can open a channel to cascade pandemic information to key constituencies.

Advantages:

▪ Issues can be addressed with small numbers of people at one time; and stakeholders can present their specific agenda(s) without monopolizing the entire meeting.

▪ Can promote discussion “sensitive” issues that participants might hold back in a public meeting.

▪ Reduces the possibility of bad media coverage if controversial issues arise and are not resolved to participants’ satisfaction.

▪ Potential for a more focused approach to planning.

▪ Staff-intensive during the day of the summit, but could save time and effort, overall.

▪ Ideally, will inform priority issues for a subsequent Town Hall meeting or alternative.

Disadvantages:

▪ Does not truly engage the “public” as a preparedness partner.

▪ May give the impression that summit invitees are important to pandemic preparedness, while others (“average” citizens) have a lesser role.

▪ Less opportunity for media coverage and attendant public information relating to individual and family pandemic preparedness.

▪ Will need to be followed by a Town Hall meeting or alternative.

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[1] Adapted from “Town Hall Meeting”

[2]

* Local businesses (e.g. hospitals, physician groups, pharmacies, retailers that sell emergency supplies) may be willing to pay for air time or to underwrite development of some of these materials as part of their community relations efforts and/or to benefit from “free” news coverage.

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