Community Hub for Ideas (CHI)

Great ideas don't come from closed rooms.
They come from the lived experiences, ambitions, and creativity of the people closest to the challenges—and the opportunities.

The Community Hub for Ideas (CHI) is the public’s open front door to governance: a platform where anyone can submit proposals, policy changes, development concepts, or community initiatives without gatekeeping, bureaucratic hurdles, or political pre-screening.

CHI doesn’t just collect ideas.
It refines them, debates them, improves them, and prepares them for action.

 

How CHI Works

 

Open Public Submissions

Any resident, business, or organization can submit an idea for public consideration. Submissions are not limited by ownership, political affiliation, or agency approval. All proposals are visible to the community immediately.

​

Community Discussion and Refinement

Ideas are debated, upvoted, downvoted, critiqued, and improved through structured public conversation. Citizens help shape, strengthen, and prioritize the initiatives that matter most to them.

​

Structured Feedback Mechanisms

Beyond simple voting, CHI enables categorized feedback:

• Strengths: What’s good or needed about the idea

• Weaknesses: Concerns, potential harms, or missing elements

• Suggestions: How the idea could be improved or expanded

​

Pathways Into Action

Ideas that show merit and gain public engagement can take several routes:

• Move directly into OGPS for land use and planning review

• Enter CCB as funding initiatives or budget suggestions

• Prompt administrative review by public departments

• Spark community-driven projects independent of government action

​

Real-Time Transparency

All submissions, discussions, and movement into formal processes are visible and auditable by the public. No idea disappears into a private review pipeline.

​

What CHI Creates

• True Civic Access: Every voice has a channel to propose real solutions, not just complain.

• Collective Idea Refinement: Public collaboration makes ideas stronger, sharper, and more actionable.

• Transparency in Prioritization: Popular ideas rise naturally, but all ideas remain visible for assessment.

• Multiple Paths Forward: Good ideas don’t die in committee—they find real-world outlets through planning, budgeting, or direct action.

• Dynamic Public Engagement: Governance becomes a living conversation, not a periodic event.

 

Why CHI Matters

Most civic processes only open when government decides it’s time to "hear public input."
CHI flips that dynamic permanently:
The public starts the conversation. The government responds.

It treats civic participation not as an occasional checkbox but as an open, ongoing ecosystem of ideas, energy, and innovation.

CHI doesn't wait for permission.
It opens the gate—and invites the community to walk through it.