Indiana Land Valuation: Building Trust in Public Policy Decisions

The Challenge

Redesigning how land is valued was a politically sensitive and technically complex task that demanded both rigor and public trust.

County leaders in Indiana needed to update their property valuation approach to better reflect the realities of urban sprawl and legacy cities. Decisions would affect economic development, taxation fairness, and community confidence. Without a clear and transparent process, any proposal risked being dismissed as biased or incomplete.

Behind the policy challenge was a fragmentation of expertise and perspective. Local government officials, county assessors, economists, and property appraisers all had different views on how land value should be represented. Previous attempts lacked a structured forum where these voices could come together, leading to stalled progress and skepticism about outcomes.

At stake was more than just technical reform. For policymakers, the process itself had to demonstrate transparency and legitimacy. Without this, even well-designed alternatives would fail to gain the trust and buy-in of citizens and community partners.

Our Approach

The team brought diverse stakeholders into one structured process, using TransparentChoice to focus debate, align priorities, and create defensible alternatives.

For the first time, local and county government leaders, academic experts, and practitioners sat together to identify which criteria best represented land value in their communities. TransparentChoice provided the framework to capture, compare, and weigh these perspectives systematically.

The tool helped participants stay engaged and on topic. Instant feedback and transparent scoring ensured that discussions remained productive, even when views diverged. Rather than drifting into side issues, stakeholders could return to the agreed policy question, keeping the conversation rigorous and focused.

The process ran for more than six months, combining workshops, structured comparisons, and reporting. This allowed for deeper learning, relationship-building, and the creation of a defensible recommendation that reflected both technical expertise and community priorities.

The Results

The project delivered a rigorous, publishable recommendation that strengthened trust in local government and changed the culture of decision-making.

Stakeholders felt valued and empowered, with TransparentChoice making it easy to express their views and see them reflected in the outcomes. The process created not just a decision, but a shared knowledge base that participants carried forward into ongoing policy discussions.

The final report was publicly shared by local authorities—something that would not have been possible without the confidence that the method was transparent and defensible. This reinforced legitimacy with citizens and partners, showing that decisions were based on evidence and collective judgment.

Beyond the immediate policy question, the experience demonstrated that collaborative, transparent methods can transform how contentious issues are addressed. Local leaders now see TransparentChoice as a reliable vehicle for collective decision-making, bridging expertise, politics, and public trust.

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