City of Gainesville Supports Inclusive Engagement for the Imagine Gainesville Comprehensive Plan

The City of Gainesville, Florida launched the Imagine Gainesville (ImagineGNV) Comprehensive Plan update in 2019 to modernize its long-range planning framework and create a more equitable, community-informed vision for the future. As the project evolved through COVID-19, changing community priorities, and updates in state legislation, the City relied on Konveio to support a flexible, multi-year public engagement process.

Using Konveio’s interactive document commenting, survey tools, and digital engagement capabilities, the City created opportunities for residents to participate online, provide detailed feedback on draft policies, and stay involved throughout multiple phases of the planning process. The platform helped the City reach residents who were traditionally more difficult to engage while also supporting a hybrid engagement strategy as in-person meetings returned.

Problem

The ImagineGNV update began just before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional public engagement efforts. Originally envisioned as a highly interactive and community-centered process, the City needed a way to continue gathering meaningful public input while in-person meetings were paused.

At the same time, the City was intentionally focused on reaching populations that are often underrepresented in planning processes, including low-income residents and minority communities. Staff wanted engagement tools that could be accessed from a phone, tablet, or computer and that would allow residents to participate on their own time.

Over the course of the five-year process, the project also experienced several shifts in direction due to changes in City leadership, evolving priorities, and statewide legislative changes affecting comprehensive planning in Florida. This required the City to maintain an adaptable engagement strategy that could evolve alongside the project itself.

Managing a complex, multi-year planning effort with a lean staff also created operational challenges. Team members were balancing document drafting, coordination across departments, and extensive community outreach, making it essential to have engagement tools that streamlined public input collection and reporting.

Solution

The City used Konveio as a centralized online engagement platform throughout multiple phases of the ImagineGNV process. Early in the project, while COVID restrictions were in place, Konveio became one of the primary ways residents could review materials and participate remotely.

“Having an online platform that was easy to use and one that could be accessed whether you had a phone, tablet, or computer was awesome.”

As in-person engagement resumed, Konveio continued to serve as a supplemental engagement tool. Residents who could not attend meetings or who preferred to review materials afterward could still participate online and share feedback with friends, family, and neighbors. 

To expand awareness of the project, Gainesville combined Konveio with a broad outreach strategy that included:

• Public meetings and workshops
• Social media outreach
• Email distribution lists
• Radio outreach
• YouTube videos
• Printed trifold flyers distributed across City facilities, parks, and meeting locations
• QR codes linking directly to the Konveio project site
• Paid community fellowships designed to encourage participation from underrepresented groups

Internally, staff used Konveio’s reporting tools to export comments into spreadsheets organized by chapter and department. Individual departments reviewed comments, drafted responses, and incorporated revisions into updated plan drafts.

Impact

Konveio helped the City of Gainesville maintain inclusive and transparent public engagement throughout the five-year ImagineGNV planning process, from COVID-era remote participation to later hybrid engagement efforts. The platform enabled residents to review documents, complete surveys, and provide detailed feedback online, while also helping staff efficiently organize and manage comments across departments. By supporting both digital and in-person engagement, the City expanded access to underrepresented communities by providing flexible tools.