How to write a community engagement plan
StickyWriting a community engagement plan can be a daunting task for any project manager or community engagement officer. There’s a lot to consider when planning community engagement. Here’s a list of what to include in your community engagement plan and why it’s …
Building resilience
StickyResilience comes in many forms, whether it be discovering new skills, building new relationships, being more informed, taking decisive action or working with people who share common goals. Having worked in several regional areas across Queensland in 2020, one thing that always …
Ten ways to engage with young people
If you want fresh thinking and innovation, then you need to engage young people. We’ve run Australia’s first youth summit on climate change initiated by a Council, and engaged thousands of students through travelling shows, and ran a curated film competition. We’ve …
Climate Change the Hot Topic
Aside from COVID, the hottest topic raised by community and stakeholders alike is climate change. Even before the IPCC this month issued a Code Red for humanity, ordinary folk were issuing their own concerns and seeking guidance and leadership. Even in communities …
Stories of our Regional and Remote Communities
Travelling into regional and remote communities earlier this year I was told many stories of heartbreak resulting from devastating natural disasters. Like one person’s plight to shift 1000s of dead cattle off a property devastated by flood waters. Not only did they …
Using the Maccas, Woolies and Coles Mindset to Engagement
If we really want to get more people to engage with councils and governments on the important topics, then we need to shake up engagement. Let’s apply a McDonalds or a Woollies / Coles / Aldi approach to public engagement projects and …
Reaching young people doesn’t need to be hard, but it needs to be engaging
Youth engagement is becoming an increasingly important part of engagement activities where projects and decisions have an impact on the youth of today and are likely to keep impacting them into the future. In any engagement project young people are typically …
To cry or not to cry?
Imagine this. A community member has bravely taken the microphone. They’re shaking but determined to tell their story. They’re detailing their years of abuse. They talk about specific incidences, how they felt, the frustration, the sense of helplessness. It’s not the first …
Four favourite methods to bring your workshop or focus group to life
When delivering a workshop or focus group it can be a challenge to hear from all voices in the room. One way to encourage everyone to have their say this is to use a few tried and tested methods that are engaging …
Hidden Persuaders: Prince Harry and Meghan interview
You live in a world where opinions rather than truth seem to carry the public mind. So the Hidden Persuaders take you behind the forces that do this. They are Dr John Harrison, Allan Bonsall and Amanda Newberry. First up, the Prince …
Four reasons you should engage with your community
Community engagement is a two-way street that can deliver benefits not only to your organisation and project but more importantly the community and stakeholders directly affected by or interested in your project. Here’s the top four benefits we see when delivering community …
What is community engagement?
Community engagement is the practice of gaining community input or feedback, or collaborating with communities, to make better decisions or to implement changes. The International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Australasia defines community engagement as “an intentional process with the specific purpose …
The toughest of projects
Last week, someone asked me what “tough projects” meant. It varies. It might be engaging on a policy change to address climate change, working on COVID, or working with communities experiencing really difficult community challenges like racism or domestic violence. There are …
Tackling tough problems – improving staff morale
The executive manager shook his head. “I don’t know what to do. The annual staff survey results aren’t good. Staff morale is falling.” It wasn’t the first year. Morale had fallen in previous surveys. What should they do? At that point nobody …
Behaviour change
In 2020, the critical importance of behaviour change became apparent. Especially in the sectors of health, mental health, disaster resilience – all which featured so heavily during 2020 – engagement can and does change the way people think and act. By engaging …
Welcome to 2021
After a highly unusual 2020, our blog is back. During 2020, we focused on a few things that kept our attention away from blogging, notably working in COVID, home schooling, and making sure we had some time and space to take care …
Swing those digital doors wide open
We know times are tough right now. Many of our fellow citizens are feeling, well frankly, pretty low. But we also know during difficult times people can still feel connected and have a voice when you invite them in and show you are …
Codesign… the secret to building agreement and action
Picture it. You’re designing a new transport solution. Everyone knows we need to it, but no one agrees how to achieve it. Everyone agrees we need to cut the gridlock and improve public transport use, but one agrees how. Everyone is frustrated. …
“She’ll be right” because we’ll make it right
In a strange time, a strange thing is happening to our cultural fabric. Australians are redefining what it means to say “she’ll be right”. No longer does it mean we shrug things off or just hope for the best. It means “she’ll …
Customer Value Proposition
Who are you and what are you offering? You’ve got a great product but for some reason, it just isn’t getting the traction it deserves. Sound familiar? We all know organisations and people who spend a lot of time and valuable resources …