When: At the very beginning of the state engagement, preferably two weeks before going on-site.
Who: The civic technology team and state staff.
The kickoff meeting is used as an introduction for both teams to each other, the work, and the schedule moving forward. This is a good time to talk about high-level goals and begin sketching out the structure of the engagement over the next few weeks.
This meeting typically lasts one hour.
This Mural is an example that can be adapted for state kickoff meetings.
With everyone in the room (virtually or otherwise), quickly go over why this work is occurring. Introduce the civic technology team, and touch on the goals and sub-goals of the project. Now is a great time for state leaders to voice their support for the work and commit to investing their time.
Go around the room and have everyone give:
Even if someone did not fill out a card in the Mural, they should still be given a moment to introduce themselves to the group.
This is a “hopes and fears” exercise. Starting with “hopes”:
Repeat the exercise with the “fears” column.
Using hypotheses generated in the hypothesis generation workshop, begin determining where the team should spend the majority of their time. Ask questions like:
As opportunities are prioritized, designate key stakeholders and subject matter experts. Capture next steps for the coming week.
(This is often where we run out of time, but this is just the beginning of this conversation!)