June 8, 2004

SUBJECT: Multicultural Outreach Task Force Recommendations

Over the past three years, the Sunnyvale City Council has prioritized increasing the City's communications with, and outreach to, Sunnyvale community members. Two fundamental goals of the City's communications and outreach efforts are to build awareness about City services and activities, and to engage community members in those issues and activities.

Recognizing Sunnyvale's growing cultural and linguistic diversity, Council convened a Multicultural Outreach Task Force in February 2004 to focus on outreach to Sunnyvale's multicultural populations. The task force was charged with reviewing the City's outreach practices and making recommendations to Council on how the City can encourage broader multicultural civic engagement, and help ensure that all Sunnyvale community members are informed about City issues and activities.

The task force identified many possible ways to strengthen communications with, and civic engagement by, multicultural populations. The task force then developed a short list of "most important" prioritized recommendations. The task force's final recommendations are organized into five broad strategies:

1. Expand representation and participation of multicultural populations at all levels of City government and in community life.
2. Increase the awareness and responsiveness of City government to multicultural issues within the community.
3. Acknowledge, value and celebrate Sunnyvale's multicultural populations.
4. Facilitate an increased "sense of community" within Sunnyvale.
5. Communicate more effectively with limited English-speaking populations.

Attachment A, Prioritized Strategies and Activities for Outreach to Multicultural Populations, is the task force's final prioritized list of recommendations supporting each of the five strategies noted above. Attachment B, Ways to Increase Communications With, and Engagement by, Sunnyvale's Multicultural Communities, is the task force's preliminary listing of all suggestions.

Staff supports 18 of the task force's 21 final prioritized recommendations.

In FY2001/02, the City Council approved two City projects focused on improving community communications and outreach. The first was a 2002 study issue, Explore Options to Improve Community Communications and Outreach, and the second was the Connected Communities/Seamless Services Initiative, a multi-faceted, multi-year effort.

The first project, the Explore Options to Improve Community Outreach study issue, focused on building community members' awareness of City services, activities and issues. In December 2002, staff delivered RTC#02-455, and Council approved 26 recommendations to improve community outreach, directing staff to return in one year with a progress report and a plan for outreach to multicultural populations. In January 2004, staff returned to Council as directed, presenting RTC #04-202, Update on Improving Communications and Outreach Efforts, Including Outreach to Multicultural Populations. In that report, staff proposed, and Council directed, that a community task force be convened to review the City's multicultural outreach practices and make recommendations to Council, based on Sunnyvale's unique needs and resources.

As noted above, the second outreach project approved by Council in FY2001/02 was the Connected Communities/Seamless Services Initiative, which focused on community building in Sunnyvale. The initiative emphasized improving community outreach by strengthening partnerships between City government and community organizations, and more actively engaging community members in City activities and decision making. As with the study issue, outreach to multicultural populations was included in the Initiative.

In March 2004, with input from the Council, the Mayor appointed the Multicultural Outreach Task Force. The task force was staffed by Coryn Campbell, Manager of Neighborhood and Community Services, and met for three two-hour sessions in March and April. A fourth meeting was held in May to review the draft report to Council.

Two fundamental goals of the City's communications and outreach efforts are to build awareness about City services and activities, and to engage community members in those issues and activities. A snapshot of Sunnyvale's demographic profile indicates that as with many California cities, Sunnyvale has become a culturally diverse community. The 2000 Census reports that Sunnyvale's population is 46.5 percent white, 32.3 percent Asian, 15 percent Hispanic, and 6.2 percent other. Thirty-nine percent of Sunnyvale's residents are immigrants, and 46 percent of households speak a primary language other than English. In April 2004, the Sunnyvale School District reported that 31 percent of its students are English-language learners. In recognition of Sunnyvale's growing cultural and linguistic diversity, Council convened the Multicultural Outreach Task Force. The task force was charged with reviewing the City's outreach practices and making recommendations to Council on ways the City can encourage broader civic engagement, and help ensure that all Sunnyvale community members are informed about City issues and activities.

Task Force members were enthusiastic about serving on the Multicultural Task Force, and commended Council for recognizing and addressing the needs of Sunnyvale's multicultural community. In carrying out their charge, the task force used the following process:

• First, they discussed the City's outreach and civic engagement challenges.
• Second, they reviewed the City's current outreach practices, demographic information, and the Outreach to Multicultural Populations with Limited or No English Language Skills report, a study conducted for the City by Diane

• Third, they specifically evaluated recommendations for outreach to limited- English-speaking populations.
• Fourth, they reviewed multicultural outreach and civic engagement practices conducted by other cities.
• And lastly, they developed and prioritized their outreach recommendations.

The task force members identified the following challenges to conducting outreach to and engaging Sunnyvale community members (not in priority order):

• Residents may not know how to access City information
• There is insufficient understanding about how Sunnyvale "works"
• Information is not well advertised or publicized to limited-English- speaking communities
• Many residents don't realize that they can be engaged in the community, and that it's relatively easy to be involved
• Many residents do not know how to become involved, or why it would be beneficial for them to be involved
• City must reach out to the diverse business community also, not just residents

• Volunteer work is not common or popular within all cultures
• Some cultures/community members may have distrust of government
• City needs to display respect to all groups, and especially groups that may be politically sensitive
• Some cultures may not question or challenge the government

• City needs languages other than English on web site; perhaps just a page or two with the important current issues
• Language barriers keep people from services and civic engagement

• Many individuals have little civic identification with Sunnyvale
• People don't understand the impact of shopping in Sunnyvale
• Often people don't get involved until an issue is of particular concern
• Perception is that Councilmembers and Board and Commission members are an elite group
• Many residents have no strong sense that they are a part of Sunnyvale
• It's difficult to know [geographically] where Sunnyvale begins and ends

As detailed in Attachment B, Ways to Increase Communications With, and Engagement by, Sunnyvale's Multicultural Communities, the task force brainstormed many recommendations to address the issues identified above. Recognizing that not all recommendations can be done at once, the task force developed a prioritized list of recommendations. These recommendations are organized into five broad strategies. The strategies reinforce and support each other, and build a foundation for achieving the City Council's overarching goal of effective communications to, and civic engagement by, Sunnyvale's culturally diverse populations.

The five strategies are:

1. Expand representation and participation of multicultural populations at all levels of City government and in community life.
2. Increase the awareness and responsiveness of City government to multicultural issues within the community.
3. Acknowledge, value and celebrate Sunnyvale's multicultural populations.
4. Facilitate an increased "sense of community" within Sunnyvale.
5. Communicate more effectively with limited English-speaking populations.

Specific activities supporting each strategy are noted in Attachment A, Prioritized Strategies and Activities for Outreach to Multicultural Populations. The activities are ranked in priority order. Priorities were determined in part by the task force's collective recommendations that:

1. The City should allocate multicultural outreach resources primarily to those activities that initiate and build relationships with multicultural populations, rather than in language translation.
2. In conducting its ongoing business, the City should strive to create a

welcoming environment for all community members.

Finally, the task force recommended that in addition to conducting outreach to multicultural populations, the City Council take a leadership role in demonstrating sensitivity to, and support for, cultures that may be subject to discrimination.

Staff supports 18 of the task force's 21 recommended outreach activities. The three activities staff does not support are:

1. Create a board or commission focused on multicultural issues and outreach
2. Facilitate a community-wide multicultural celebration.
3. Provide translators at City meetings and events.

Staff does not support the first activity, Create a board or commission focused on multicultural issues and outreach, for the following reasons:

1. The goals of this activity are similar to, and may largely be met by, two related recommendations: 2.A – Develop relationships with leaders of diverse ethnic and cultural organizations representing Sunnyvale residents; and 2.B – Create a multicultural business round table.

2. At this time the mission of such a board or commission is not clear. Staff recommends that Council defer consideration of this activity until January

Staff does not support the second activity, Facilitate a community-wide multicultural celebration, due to the cancellation of the Department of Parks and Recreation's International Festival, as part of the budget reductions directed by Council in FY2002/03 for FY2003/04 and thereafter.

Finally, staff is not supporting the third activity, Provide translators at City meetings and events, because of the high costs associated with providing translators for all City meetings and events. Instead, staff recommends Activity 5B, which encourages staff to conduct special outreach (including translation) as appropriate to the subject or content of a City meeting or event, and the target audience.

The fiscal impact of each activity is listed in Attachment A, Prioritized Strategies and Activities for Outreach to Multicultural Populations. As noted in the attachment, limited funding for multicultural outreach activities is included in the Neighborhood and Community Services Program's proposed FY2004/05 operating budget.

For those recommendations that are not included in next year's proposed operating budget, ballpark cost estimates for implementing the activities have been noted. Should Council direct staff to explore any unbudgeted new activities further, staff will return to Council with a detailed estimate and proposed implementation plan.

Public contact was made through sharing the draft report with the Multicultural Outreach Task Force, posting of the Council agenda in public places, on the City’s Web page, and the publication of the general business/public hearing items in the San Jose Mercury News.

1. Council directs implementation of all staff-recommended activities.
2. Council directs staff to implement any combination of activities.
3. Council directs staff to take no new action regarding multicultural outreach.
4. Other actions as determined by Council.

Staff recommends Alternative 1.

Prepared by:

Coryn Campbell
Manager, Neighborhood and Community Services

Approved by:

Amy Chan
City Manager

Attachments
Attachment A, Prioritized Strategies and Activities for Outreach to Multicultural Populations (pdf format)
Attachment B, Ways to Increase Communications With, and Engagement By, Sunnyvale's Multicultural Communities (pdf format)