Engaged Communities

Bringing communities and stakeholders effectively into the decision making and change management arena

We offer consulting and development services to assist policy makers, project managers, decision makers, technical experts and community engagement practitioners to plan and implement effective community engagement initiatives.


For Policy Makers we offer:

  • Peer review of community engagement policy, strategies and procedures
  • Consulting support in the change management implementation of new policies and procedures so that they become an integral part of the way the organisation engages with the public

For Decision Makers and Project Managers we offer:

  • Short, sharp training in the practice of community engagement so that managers are informed and aware of how effective practice can impact the organisations decision and project management processes
  • Constructive Engagement Workshop (1/2 Day) which provides a strategic framework for Project Managers for when and how to engage with communities.
  • Consulting support to ensure community engagement initiatives are well planned and executed.

For Technical Experts and Engineers we offer:

A leading edge development program: Survival Training for Engineers and other Professionals. This program was designed in collaboration with Dr Will Rifkin, acknowledged expert in communications between technical and non-technical people.

For Community Engagement Practitioners we offer: the IAP2 Certificate of Public Participation

This comprises of the following three modules:

  • Planning for Effective Public Participation (2 days)
  • Effective Communication for Public Participation (1 day)
  • Techniques for Effective Public Participation (2 days)

Training in Professional Development series:

For more experienced practitioners we offer the Advanced Community Engagement Practitioner Masterclass

Coaching and mentoring to provide timely support to practitioners as they plan and implement their projects

 

Please note that our IAP2 Training is offered as a Public Course as well as an In-House Training Course.

Please contact us for details.


    For Community Engagement Projects we offer: 

    As expert community engagement practitioners ourselves, together with our Australia wide network of community engagement specialists, we also offer our services in the on-the-ground planning and facilitation of large and small community engagement projects. Our capabilities include:

      • Provision of advice, coaching, facilitation and support on a wide range of engagement techniques including Citizen juries, resident feedback registers, advisory groups
      • Recording of feedback comments and issues from the consultation activities
      • Evaluate past or current consultation processes against standards for effectiveness
      • Establish and implement communication plans including:
      • Identifying stakeholders and their concerns
      • Establishing strategic communication goals for each stakeholder group
      • Establishing appropriate ‘positioning’ for the organisation
      • Providing recommendations on communications strategies
      • Preparing an overall communications plan
      • Reviewing the success of particular communications activities and strategies
      • Producing printed material using our graphics and printing partners
      • Producing display material for static and interactive displays.
      •

    We have internationally recognised expertise in a wide range of deliberative techniques, and this can provide high levels of confidence in outcomes, especially when linked to a rigorous and well designed plan.

    We are linked to local national and international practitioners in this field. We were founding members of the Australasian Chapter of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) and Vivien Twyford is the past president (2004). We support and use the tools developed by IAP2 including the Participation Spectrum which can be found on their web site at http://www.iap2.org.au or directly at http://www.iap2.org.au/sitebuilder/resources/knowledge/asset/files/3/iap2spectrum.pdf.