MIMIE LAURANT CONSULTING LLC
Engagement failures are governance design failures.
Public engagement is one of the most consistently required and consistently underperforming practices across institutions that serve communities. The conventional response is more engagement — more outreach, better facilitation, clearer communications. These improvements matter. But they do not address the underlying cause of failure.
Engagement fails not because institutions lack effort or intention. It fails because engagement is routinely designed as an activity rather than a governance condition. That is a structural problem. And it requires a structural solution.
THE FRAMEWORK
The Four C's Governance Framework
A structured lens for evaluating and improving how institutions design public engagement. Built for organizations that want engagement to do more than satisfy a procedural requirement — and are willing to examine whether their processes are structurally positioned to earn and sustain public trust.
Community
Is lived experience treated as decision-relevant expertise?
Consent
Is participation informed, voluntary, and supported by visible feedback?
Clarity
Are decision authority, purpose, constraints, and scope legible to the people being asked to participate?
Choice
Are multiple, equitable participation pathways available?
Together these lenses evaluate whether engagement is designed to produce genuine participation — or merely the appearance of it.
HOW I WORK
Three modes of engagement
Institutional Diagnostic
An honest structural assessment of how your organization designs engagement. We examine your processes through each of the Four C's — identifying where alignment exists, where it doesn't, and what that means for public trust. Diagnosis before correction. Always.
Governance Design
Corrective redesign of engagement processes that are producing symbolic rather than substantive participation. This is structural work — at the level of decision authority, participation design, and feedback visibility. Not messaging. Not facilitation. Governance.
Strategic Advisory
Long-term counsel for institutions navigating growth, transition, or a moment where their engagement practice and their values are no longer aligned. Selective intake. Sustained attention.
WHO I WORK WITH
Are you designing engagement worth showing up for?
The Four C's framework is institution-agnostic. It travels across municipal governments, nonprofits, educational institutions, membership organizations, and any public-facing entity that makes decisions affecting communities. The question that unites them: are we designing engagement worth showing up for?
THE EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW
Read the framework.
The Four C's Governance Framework is documented in a public Executive Overview — a detailed introduction to the framework's premise, diagnostic function, and structural trust outputs. To request a copy, reach out directly.
WORK WITH ME
Selective intake. Sustained attention.
I take on a small number of engagements at a time. This is intentional. It means the organizations I work with get sustained attention, not divided focus. If you're interested in working together, reach out with a brief description of your institution and what you're navigating. We'll take it from there.