Looks like we've decided to engage. Yay!

We only engage when there is a genuine opportunity for the community to have a say and influence a decision that needs to be made.

Check out our Engagement principles below for the why and when we do engagement (these are legislated and something we commit to doing in our Policy).

What you need to do now:

Complete the Community Engagement Plan template.


The document will guide you through setting up the plan but not every section will apply to your project so please leave whatever isn’t relevant blank. Red text is there to help guide your thinking and give real examples.

The tabs below have a heap of information and resources to help with the completion of the template, however, don't forget that the Engagement team is here to help you at any time.

Methods

We are guided by the IAP2 Spectrum

The Spectrum has been around forever and anyone who's done engagement has heard of it. For those who are new to CE, the Spectrum describes five levels of engagement from inform through to empower.

A demonstration of how we are guided by the IAP2 spectrum is included below, including examples of engagement methods and our representation of where the five levels might fit on the deliberative scale.

IAP2 Spectrum

Engagement Principles

These principles underpin and guide all engagement we do at Wyndham.

Considering these principles when planning and executing CE ensures that we can have confidence when engaging with our community and staying true to our purpose.

Each principle is supported by policy statements that provide further guidance and clarity as to its purpose and intent.

  • We will define the engagement objectives, negotiables, non-negotiables and scope of community engagement processes.
  • We will clearly communicate the reasons for the engagement and level of influence for people involved.
  • We will capture and use the learnings from service delivery and customer data in planning community engagement.
  • We will ensure people have the information with enough time so that they can participate meaningfully in engagement activities.
  • We will use a range of different engagement methods that provide the right information for people to be informed and provide input.
  • We will identify at the outset those people who are impacted by or interested in the decision being made.
  • We will use our existing networks and connections to reach out to people, attempting to reach a diverse audience.
  • We will endeavour to reach a broad cross section of the community and acknowledge that the most vocal and active voices don’t necessarily represent broader community views.
  • We will support all participants to engage and reduce barriers to participation.
  • We will use culturally appropriate engagement methods.
  • We will support people to be involved in the ways that are most relevant to them.
  • We will engage with people in the places they are connected to, and in spaces that are welcoming and accessible.
  • We will be transparent about how involvement will shape decision-making at the outset of the engagement.
  • We will communicate the negotiables and non-negotiables of a project.
  • We recognise and will be guided by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) principles and practices.
  • We will communicate with those involved or impacted by a decision being made via the engagement process, findings and what the outcome of the engagement is.
  • Councillors will be presented with the broad variety of views provided by the community and are impartial and active listeners in the process.

Stakeholder Analysis

This involves identifying the people both within and outside Council who will be engaged. When looking at stakeholders, it is important to identify:

  • What is each stakeholder’s interest or stake in the issue?
  • What value can they bring to the issue? Will they provide subject matter expertise, help identify potential barriers, offer diverse perspectives or provide support?
  • What information will they need to participate?
  • Do they have any special requirements?
  • At what points in the project do you need to engage them?

Stakeholder analysis resources

Stakeholder Groups document provides a list of potential internal and external stakeholders. This list is by no means exhaustive.

The Engaging Communities page provides details on how to reach groups that we've identified as potentially having more barriers to engagement such as language, physical ability, digital comprehension, lack of time and social isolation. There's a list of key internal contacts who work regularly within these communities and are a treasure trove of information to help you.

The Stakeholder Analysis Table helps you to identify stakeholders / community who may be

impacted by the decision / project and those who will influence the outcomes of the engagement process. The level of impact/influence will determine the level of engagement and communication required.

Engagement Types

Deliberative engagement

Deliberative engagement approaches bring greater transparency, inclusivity and fairness when it comes to solving local issues. They often create new solutions to old problems.

Deliberative engagement practices align with the “involve”, “collaborate” and “empower” levels of influence on the IAP2 spectrum.

For our council, the key elements of deliberation are:

  • There is a complex problem or issue to be solved.
  • A deliberating group is selected using a random and stratified recruitment method
  • Information from diverse sources and covering different sides of the issue, such as background reports and expert speakers is provided.
  • The group is given 4-6 full days of time to deliberate.
  • The process is designed and facilitated by independent skilled facilitators.
  • The group considers information, identifies options, comes to judgement, writes their own recommendations/report, and presents it to the elected council.

Scaling of deliberative engagement is important, as not all deliberative engagement processes must include all elements as described. The more deliberative practices that are included, the more deliberative it will become. We will decide where a process fits on the scale of deliberation, having regard to the significance and complexity of the decision to be made.

The Act requires that deliberative engagement practices must, at a minimum, be used in the development of the following:

  • community vision
  • council plan
  • financial plan
  • asset plan.

Community engagement encompasses a range of practices and processes, from a simple online poll, through to elaborate citizen juries. The Act does not define any type of community engagement that councils must employ. However it does ensure that, at a minimum, a council use and deliberative engagement practices in developing the above documents and processes.

We would encourage staff who are interested in deliberative engagement and how it may be required for their processes to refer to the following document: A short guide to Deliberative Engagement for Victorian Councils.

The Community Engagement Team can help you to decide what level of deliberative engagement to use for your process, having regard to the significance and complexity of the decision to be made.

Other types of community engagement

Not all types of community engagement meet the requirements of deliberative engagement. Community engagement processes within “inform” or “consult” on the IAP2 spectrum do not fall within deliberative engagement. Sometimes, elements of deliberative principles might be included in a community engagement process that is not itself a full deliberative process.

Participants in these processes are self-selected, and not recruited through an independent process. This type of community engagement usually occurs where feedback is invited on ideas, different alternatives or draft documents. These types of community engagement are more likely to be appropriate where:

  • we have already asked our community about the topic/issue or we have existing service/customer data
  • there are simpler and less complex issues for consideration
  • there is less time for consideration of issues compared with deliberative processes, or
  • there is less opportunity for community to impact a decision.