Boards and Commissions
The City benefits from the volunteer efforts of hundreds of residents who serve on more than fifty advisory boards and commissions. These boards and commissions represent a key component of community engagement activities in regard to City actions and decision making. Residents should have good information about service opportunities and be well-oriented once selected to serve.
NCR is working to improve the effectiveness of these boards and commissions and to streamline the open appointment process. In addition, NCR either staffs directly or works very closely with three advisory boards and committees
Minneapolis Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities (MACOPD): The MACOPD is a citizen based education and advocacy group formed to expand opportunities for all children and adults with disabilities throughout Minneapolis, without regard to disability or other protected class status
Neighborhood and Community Engagement Commission (NCEC): The NCEC works with the Neighborhood and Community Relations department to provide overall direction on the City’s community engagement efforts. Through the input and work of the Neighborhood and Community Engagement Commission, residents, community and neighborhood organizations will play a key role in enhancing and shaping how the City engages its residents.
NRP Policy Board: The key work of the Policy Board is to review and approve the NRP plans and to also to review the Community Participation Plan submissions from neighborhood organizations.
Senior Citizens Advisory Committee (SCAC):The Committee is responsible for bringing senior citizen concerns to the attention of the Mayor and City Council.
2012 Boards and Commissions Diversity Survey
To understand and measure the demographics of the City’s boards and commissions, the NCR department conducts a voluntary survey of the board and commission members every few years. The first survey was completed in 2009. The City’s 2nd The Boards and Commissions Diversity Survey was completed in June, 2012. The survey is entirely voluntary and was administered using Survey Monkey. The survey was sent out to city staff who work with boards and commissions. Staff were asked to forward out the link to the survey and a few additional reminder emails to the people who serve on the boards and commissions to ensure the greatest participation.
In 2012, we had 195 respondents resulting in a 39.2% response rate. This compares with the 2009 survey when we had 196 respondents and a 39.4% rate. The survey had a total of 21 questions.
The overall conclusion of the survey are as follows:
- Actions implemented to date have significantly increased the size of the applicant pool. More people are applying for vacancies on our boards and commissions than previously.
- Actions implemented to date have not resulted in greater diversity of our boards and commissions.
- Additional review and changes to the appointment process are needed to increase the diversity of our boards and commissions.
On August 30, 2012 the department presented the final report and recommendations to the City Council’s Committee of the Whole. Click here to view the final report (pdf).
The City of Minneapolis invites and encourages participation by every resident to each program, service and event within our city. Should you require an accommodation in order for you to fully participate, or should you require this document in a different format, please let us know by contacting 612-673-3737.
Last updated Apr. 30, 2013