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 procesdures

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 decsion and project management processes

Constructive Engagement Workshop (1/2 Day) which provides a strategic frmaework 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: Managing the Public Interface - Survival Training for Engineers. 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:

Training in community engagement, namely the IAP2 Certificate of Public Participation. This includes the following 3 modules:

Planning Effective Public Participation Programs (2 days)

Techniques for Effective Public Participation (2 days)

Effective Communication for Public Participation (1 day)

Training in the professional development series:

Evaluation for Public Participation (1 day)

Facilitation for Public Participation (1 day)

For more experienced practitioners we offer the Advanced Practitioner Masterclass (2 days)

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 faciltiation 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, using DARZIN, a purpose designed computerised system of data collation and report production

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.