Community engagement is the process of involving community members and key stakeholders in decision-making and actions of organisations so that we achieve better outcomes or solutions for our communities.
First introduced to Australia in the late 80s, it has become an essential part of a modern democracy and is enshrined in many pieces of legislation and regulations across the country and within local, state and federal government.
But modern-day community engagement is vastly different from the old-school engagement.
How is modern-day community engagement in Australia different from the 1990s version? Here are 6 ways modern engagement stands out.
- Community engagement is about involving people in decisions and actions that make our communities and the world a better place. 🌏 It’s more than making better decisions; it’s delivering those decisions and involving communities in taking action.
- The feedback loop is important. But the action loop is even more important.
- Codesign is a common approach to engagement and not a novelty. 🧸 Codesign is about involving the users of a service or product to help design it, together with the decision-making. It requires a higher level of commitment from the public and the decision-maker.
- Engaging young people is good practice, not an exception. 👶 Social media, schools, and more formalised systems of reaching younger people makes them one of the most accessible groups to reach.
- Community engagement is mandatory in lots of industries, including property development, energy, mining, water and water pricing, community plans, the health sector and many more. ⚖️
- The “squeaky wheel” should not automatically get all the attention, and community engagement is expected to be representative of the broader public. 🛞
- Community engagement should be a responsibility of boards and executive teams and is now an expectation from groups including AICD. 👩🏼💼
