At the bottom of this page, you will find six ways to stay engaged with us and other community members.
A trustworthy city is built by people who believe their community is not yet as good as it can be and who are willing to work together with local government to improve it.
No city decision-maker sees the whole picture, especially because Santa Clara decision-makers are fully immersed in many decisions right in front of them. Better decisions emerge when different experiences, perspectives, concerns, and ideas are brought into the discussion.
That is one key reason why local government needs the people.
And that's one of the reasons we created this website.
We created Public Trust Now to give ethics and ethical leadership, public trust, good governance, and meaningful public involvement a stronger voice in Santa Clara. We do that by providing the people of Santa Clara with information, analysis, perspective, and opportunities for people to talk important issues over with one another.
We believe asking ethics and public trust questions—which Santa Clara decision-makers too often ignore—improves decision-making in every case.
We believe these important questions need to be discussed before decisions are made—not after.
We believe citizens have knowledge, experience, and perspectives that can improve Santa Clara's decisions and help develop better solutions.
And we believe meaningful public involvement should be more than a two-minute speech at a council meeting after the substantive decisions have already been made.
Just as importantly, we believe no single resident sees the whole picture.
One person notices a problem. Another understands its history. Someone else shares expertise. Another contributes a different perspective. Better understanding emerges when those pieces are brought together. In many cases, consensus about what to do next is not as elusive as we often think.
That is what we hope this website will become: a place where people learn from one another, share information, work through difficult questions, develop better ideas than any of us could create alone, and then act with purpose.
That's what an ethics community of practice does.
This is a place where people interested in ethics, public trust, good governance, accountability, transparency, and meaningful public involvement can learn from one another and help strengthen the quality of public decision-making in Santa Clara.
But a website by itself changes nothing.
Research, analysis, articles, surveys, forums, investigations, and shared knowledge matter only if people read them, discuss them, challenge them, improve them, and use them.
Whether you have five minutes a day or five hours a week, there is a place for you to help build a movement.
You can help us identify issues and decisions that deserve attention.
You can contribute ideas, expertise, and community knowledge.
You can participate in discussions.
You can help us understand how decisions affect different parts of the community.
You can let your Santa Clara friends and neighbors know about us. We welcome all voices.
You can volunteer your time and talents.
You can help expand the conversation about ethics, public trust, and good governance in Santa Clara.
Most importantly, you can help ensure these subjects receive the attention they deserve before major decisions are made.
The opportunities below represent different ways to participate.
Every contribution matters.
Every perspective counts.
Every person has a piece of the puzzle that will become a sustainable, ethical decision worthy of public trust.
Please choose one or more of the opportunities below and join us in helping Santa Clara become a City of Trust. Each option provides some additional information and most include short registration forms.
Thank you for considering our request.
