Listening Sessions
Three core principles guided the Listening Session structure and facilitation:
- Center the Discussion Around Lived Experiences: Session structure encouraged participants to share stories about their decision-making, typical behaviors, and experiences keeping the lights on and water flowing. Participants were treated as advisors whose experiences inform how LADWP can continue to evolve to support affordability and accessibility.
- Ensure Accessible and Consistent Participation: OPA facilitated thematic stations with defined learning objectives at each session, aiming to deliver methodologically consistent participant findings across sessions, and promote accessibility. Activities were designed so anyone could participate on their own terms, normalizing hardship and recognizing system-wide barriers rather than blaming individuals for their circumstances.
- Prioritize Transparency: Communication around the intended use and purpose of the input was key, and expectations around what OPA could and could not promise were clearly communicated throughout the process, including why each question was being asked and how input would be used to support collective action.
Each of the three Listening Sessions featured five stations with twelve activity boards, an optional videography component where participants could share their stories, and comment cards to provide written feedback. Participants rotated through facilitated stations focused on distinct but interrelated domains relevant to LADWP’s operations and customer experience. See Appendix A for overview of individual stations and guiding questions.
Solutions Summit
OPA designed the Solution Summits to bring customers into the problem-solving process, shifting from identifying challenges to developing solutions. They operated under the same guiding principles as the Listening Sessions, but with the following three goals:
- Provide solutions for residents: Share information on LADWP programs, educational resources, and conservation tools.
- Enable resident engagement: Create opportunities for residents to learn, sign up for programs, ask questions, and receive tailored information.
- Gather community input: Facilitate interactive stations to collect feedback and ideas from participants on improving communications, customer experience, and affordability solutions.
Insights from the Listening Sessions informed the development of three activities. Two of these asked for input on lowering bills and improving program access. The third was an interactive session where customers designed their own LADWP bills to better reflect the information they find most helpful.
In addition to activities to engage customer feedback, customer service representatives from LADWP provided assistance with billing questions, program enrollment, and information about programs and services.