A strategy can fail without the will to drive it
Can a well-constructed and resourced strategy succeed without the will of those driving it? A good strategy, communicated, will keep things moving, but often it is an individual or group’s will, particularly ‘the sheer force of will’ that delivers the most change. Work, …
150,000 people engaged – Community insight #3 Data and tech
Over the past four years, we’ve engaged more than 150,000 across Australia and New Zealand to address the big issues facing our communities and organisations. That’s 150,000 people who’ve made an active contribution, mostly positive, and not just 150,000 clicks, views or …
Substance over slogans
When you think about some of the great marketing campaigns in the world, you think about the slogan and the catchy jingle. You know the ones – they give you ear worm when you turn on the TV or radio. Undeniably these …
150,000 people engaged – Community insight #2 Environment
Over the past four years, we’ve engaged more than 150,000 across Australia and New Zealand to address the big issues facing our communities and organisations. In the second part of our Insights series, we unpack the many shades of green. Aside from …
A picture tells a thousand words
We all know that feeling when we just can’t communicate what we are trying to say. It’s not because we don’t know what to say. It’s because it’s often hard for people to visualise what we mean. You can put forward the …
150,000 people engaged – Community insight #1 Change is not always scary
There’s a terrible myth that people don’t want change. That’s just not true. What people are actually afraid of is change when there’s no sense of control. Or when change is forced upon them and there are no options. Most people, when …
Our top 9 predictions for engagement in 2019
1. Civic Innovation powers ahead – The Smart Cities Council launched the Guidance Note for Civic Innovation which defines civic innovation for the first time, and defines 5 principles for good practice. 2. Measuring up – Evaluation and measurement will continue to grow, as our profession gets …
Think you know gaming? Drop that stereotype right now
You might think a typical gamer is a teen or 20 something male who spends hours on end in their room, not seeing the light of day. This stereotype is not accurate, not even slightly. Around 60% of everyday Australians play video …
School holidays. To engage or not? When it’s appropriate and why it’s usually not.
As a general rule the school holidays are best avoided when planning community engagement activities because people are generally harder to reach and disengaged from reality during holiday periods. This is especially so at Christmas when everything tends to get that little …
Facilitation: behind the scenes
If you’ve ever been to a facilitated workshop or event you’ll be familiar with the role of the facilitator: the person who welcomes everyone, encourages participation in engagement activities, introduces guests, highlights the key messages of the speakers, asks thought provoking questions, …
Engagement tools: paper vs digital. Which is better?
In recent years digital engagement has really taken off with people experimenting with new technologies that make engagement activities more accessible and sustainable. As leaders in the digital engagement sector, Articulous is often called upon to help clients who want to be …
Beware of this four letter word when analysing community responses
You may have heard that online surveys are dead. Even though you’re constantly being bombarded with emails and website pop ups requesting your valuable input in the form of an online survey. How many of them do you simply ignore? …
Are online surveys dead?
You may have heard that online surveys are dead. Even though you’re constantly being bombarded with emails and website pop ups requesting your valuable input in the form of an online survey. How many of them do you simply ignore? …
Facilitation: Tips for successful sessions
Here at Articulous we facilitate a LOT of meetings and workshops. Thankfully we love doing this, especially when the content is complex or contentious. We have been tweeting a selection of our favourite twenty tips for making sure that your facilitation session …
Why everyday people turn up to solve community problems
It was a Saturday morning. The first day in a four-month process for members of a citizen engagement process to tackle a very tricky issue. …
Avoid the last minute engagement rush
The proverb – “he who hesitates is lost” could be true when it comes to last minute stakeholder engagement. If we spend too much time thinking about engaging rather than planning and delivering it strategically, we can run out of time to …
Asking the right questions – it’s all in the framing
For some people the tricky part of engagement can be actually making the decision to engage and working out how to go about it. While it’s vital to have a strategy that informs engagement, it’s equally as important not to skip past …
The truth about common ground and community engagement
Common ground is something that people agree about even if they disagree about other things (Merriam-Webster, 2018). It can be an important objective of community engagement where there is strong disagreement or conflict between groups. However, reaching common ground is not always an …
IoT Conference
Humans, technology and data in focus at the IoT conference Drones, self drive miniature smart cars, and smart data were highlights of the National IoT (Internet of Things) Conference in Melbourne on 4 June. Amongst the smart gadgets, it was the human aspect of technology that was brought …