In the lead up to the next cycle of IP&R, and in finalising the current one, effective community engagement will become a priority. To get the most from your community engagement efforts you will need an effective Community Engagement Strategy. Consider the following:
- Is council’s Community Engagement Strategy fit for purpose? Does it adequately identify all the stakeholder groups in the community council needs to hear from during the reporting and planning cycle? Does it identify a range of engagement methodologies to ensure equitable access to all those seeking to participate? Does it consider the resources required for effective engagement (human, financial, practical, support materials and so on)?
- Have you planned your engagement activities? Does your Council’s Community Engagement Strategy identify the occasions that engagement will occur during the reporting and planning cycle? Does it identify the roles and responsibilities of councillors and council staff in the engagement process? Does it identify what support materials need to be developed to allow informed participation by community stakeholders in engagement activities?
- What is the role of community surveys in council’s engagement? Is there clarity about what the surveys are seeking to find out? Is the survey focussed on understanding the community’s experience of living in this LGA (social connection, sense of safety, opportunities for employment and further education, adequate access to green space and recreation etc) or is its focus on the community’s satisfaction with council (satisfaction with swimming pools, libraries, roads, parks and the governing body’s performance etc)? Or does the survey attempt to do both of those things?
- What questions do you want community engagement outcomes to answer? Are you planning on throwing out the old CSP and starting again, or is your community engagement focused more on confirming the strategic objectives and re-engaging community stakeholders to support the achievement of these goals? Are the upcoming engagement activities an opportunity to agree better measures of progress and effectiveness for the strategies identified in the CSP? Will the engagement process also inform the ‘end-of-term’ report, and if so, how does the discussion need to be shaped in order to inform both reporting and planning?
- How will your community engagement be used for the next cycle of planning? Will its focus be primarily on the CSP? Or will you be proactively seeking input into the development of the next Delivery Program… if yes, how will this be used to support the incoming council to set its priorities? Will the next engagement activities specifically seek to answer questions relating to the Resourcing Strategy’s development? Will you utilise participatory budgeting tools to help inform the development of the Long-Term Financial Plan? Will you actively engage community members around levels of service in relation to council’s assets and service provision? And how will you bring the councillors along as part of this discussion?
- What other community-generated feedback exists to support council’s planning and reporting? Have you considered how customer requests, complaints and compliments data, social media feedback and so on might be utilised to take the community’s pulse on certain matters. How might your front-line staff be co-opted as ‘community engagers’ in an ongoing way, so that feedback they receive day-to-day gets captured for planning and reporting purposes.?
As you review your council’s Community Engagement Strategy ahead of the next IP&R cycle, reflect on these questions so that your community engagement delivers the intended outcomes.
Feel free to share your ideas about how to develop and implement and effective Community Engagement Strategy to support your council’s IP&R practice.