Frequently Asked Questions

Envision Prince George’s

What is Envision Prince George’s?

How is Envision Prince George’s Different?

Who Should Participate in Envision Prince George’s?

Will This Initiative Build on Past Efforts?

Who is Organizing This Initiative?

What Will Happen at the End of Envision Prince George’s?

How Do I Get Involved?

What is a Community Action Team and what is their charge?

How were the Community Action Teams selected?

How were the Community Action Team Goals selected?

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What is Envision Prince George’s?

Envision Prince George’s is a call to action to develop and implement a vision for our county with a vibrant economy and high quality of life for all. Envision Prince George’s is an open and inclusive initiative that will engage all stakeholders, including individuals and groups from across the County as active participants. Envision participants will have opportunities—through innovative educational activities, interactive community forums, online discussions, and a countywide town meeting—to provide input into the direction of the County’s future. Goals and strategies to help shape, inform, and guide the County’s policies and decisions will also be developed from the resulting shared vision.

How is Envision Prince George’s Different?

Envision Prince George’s will be built from the ground up—from the viewpoints of the community. Residents, citizens, business leaders, property owners, community advocates, youth, seniors, farmers, the workforce, elected and appointed officials will all be involved.

Over the course of six months, Envision will engage thousands of people at an unprecedented scale in creating a countywide vision and action agenda framework. The initiative will utilize different types of community forums and technology to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to participate and to ensure that a strong County consensus can emerge:

  • Envision Prince George’s will engage hundreds of diverse County stakeholders in CommunityForums.
  • Online and mobile discussions will bring hundreds more into the process.
  • A large-scale forum, called a 21st Century Town Meeting®, will convene as many as 1,000 people at one time to set a collective vision for the future and identify strategies for implementation that will become part of the action agenda framework.
  • Online activities and media programs will reach people at home to educate them about the issues and give them a chance to get involved.

Who Should Participate in Envision Prince George’s?

Anyone who lives or works in the county or enjoys its resources is a stakeholder in its future and should be involved in Envision Prince George’s. This initiative is designed to challenge us to think differently about how we see our county and our individual and collective roles in its future to help make Prince George’s County the best it can be.

Will This Initiative Build on Past Efforts?

Yes. Much work has been done by the county, communities, and others over the past several years to develop plans and initiatives to improve the quality of life in Prince George’s County. These efforts include county wide land use plans, transportation plans, economic development strategies, local area master plans, and much more. Envision Prince George’s will build on the visions, goals, and strategies from these past efforts and seeks to develop a coordinated county-wide effort that links county level and local level action together.

Who is organizing this initiative?

Envision Prince George’s is an initiative launched by The Maryland-National Capital Parks and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in collaboration with AmericaSpeaks, a non profit, non partisan, organization based in Washington, D.C., committed to elevating the role of the people’s voice in public decision making. An Advisory Team has been formed, including leaders from the county government, business community, community organizations, and residents. The Advisory Team will focus on the shared responsibility of implementing the action plan Envision Prince George’s will produce.

The M-NCPPC serves the residents and citizens of Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties, helping to preserve, protect and manage resources; provide the highest quality parks, recreation and planning and growth management services; and facilitate effective intergovernmental, citizen and resident involvement. For more information visit www.mncppc.org/Envision.

What Will Happen at the End of Envision Prince George’s?

Envision Prince George’s goal is to create a framework that will guide decision-making in the County in the long term to achieve a higher quality of life and sustain a vibrant economy and community. To be successful, it will require residents, leaders, and every kind of stakeholder to work together to envision our future and take responsibility—and action—for that future.

At the end of the public engagement process, Envision Prince George’s will produce a clear action agenda based on the informed priorities of thousands of people across the County. As part of the initiative, Envision will convene discussions on how the vision and its priorities can be implemented and the resources and leadership within the community and county necessary to ensure the emerging agenda is acted upon.

How Do I Get Involved?

Envision Prince George’s is an open and inclusive initiative in which everyone who wishes to take part can do so. Everyone who participates will have a chance to speak, listen, and learn from others. All voices will be at the table, including those groups who often may not participate in discussions of community issues that impact their lives.

The driving force behind Envision Prince George’s is that –together— we can make a difference in our county and our local communities. Everyone who participates will be encouraged to take three types of action:

  • Envision – Share your views about the type of future you want to see in Prince George’s County.
  • Embody – Act on your vision by taking specific steps to help improve the quality of life in your county.
  • Embrace – Explore your county by learning about its opportunities and challenges and enjoying the good things it has to offer.

There will be many opportunities for participants to take action in each of these areas. The aim of all Envision Prince George’s activities is to help everyone get involved and stay involved.

What is a Community Action Team and what is their charge?

At the 21st Century Town Meeting®, participants were informed about the development of Community Action Teams (CAT) and invited to participate. Teams have initially been formed around the top 13 goals that were prioritized by the community at the Town Meeting under each of the six Envision quality of life areas: Live, Work, Learn, Serve, Enjoy, and Sustain. The CAT provides an opportunity for anyone in the community who is interested to work on developing and helping to implement key strategies and objectives for the near and long-term that can contribute to achieving the prioritized goals.

More than 200 people signed up to participate, although the teams vary in size. Each is spearheaded by a passionate and knowledgeable chair or co-chairs in the goal area with support from staff at the M-NCPPC and the nonprofit organization AmericaSpeaks. The Community Action Team’s responsibility in the five weeks following the Town Meeting is to develop a report outlining recommendations to help achieve the priority goals. The reports will become part of the final action agenda, which will be announced on June 11, 2010 at the 3rd Annual Economic Outlook Forum.

How were the Community Action Teams selected?

Members of the public have the opportunity to join a Community Action Team. Registration information was provided at the Envision Prince George’s 21st Century Town Meeting®.  Prince Georgians can also provide feedback via the web site and sign-up to join online. Chairs of the teams were selected by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission based upon criteria including expertise in facilitation of similar processes; knowledge of the goal areas; and commitment, interest, and passion for Envision Prince George’s.  Chairs include Envision Prince George’s Advisory Team members; Envision ambassadors; residents; business persons; and representatives of non-profit, community and other organizations. Community Action Teams remain open for public participation.

How were the Community Action Team Goals selected?  

A total of 19 goals were presented at the Envision Prince George’s 21st Century Town Meeting for the community to vote on and prioritize.  These goals were selected based upon feedback at seven community forums held in the months prior to the Town Meeting. Because priorities must always be made when deploying human and other resources, 13 of the top ranking goals were selected to develop the initial work of the Community Action Teams. Where there was overlap, or where one goal could be a strategy for achieving another goal, goals were combined.

Every goal outlined by the community is important to the holistic growth and vitality of Prince George’s County. Envision Prince George’s will help to serve as a catalyst to help develop and coordinate strategies and recommendations for several key goals, and will also seek to encourage and involve others throughout the county to take leadership in developing and implementing strategies and objectives for many of the other goals.

Sign up to participate in Envision Prince Georges at www.envisionprincegeorges.org or text ‘ENVISION’ to 41411. You may also call 301-952-3594 or 301-952-4366 for TTY access.