The Rutland Regional Planning Commission is committed to using technology to expand public participation in the planning process. When we look around the room at meetings, hearings, and other public participation events, we are always grateful and pleased to see plenty of participation from the more mature age groups. Our most active and committed community leaders, volunteers and activists are often those members of our population whose children are grown or who have chosen to retire in our beautiful state.

However, we strongly believe that the planning process is the strongest when it reflects the desires, aspirations, opinions and beliefs of people from all generations. By expanding our communication chanels into the realm of Web 2.0 applications like blogs, we hope to pave the way for easier communication between the generations.

We hope to add many online tools to our public participation process. The Planning Commission has already used innovative online participation and networking tools like Facebook and SurveyMonkey to get input on for Community Branding event held in the summer of 2008. Look for more of these outreach efforts in the future!