Plan and deliver early input community engagement for a Social Plan in a regional local government area
Situation Explained
Somerset Regional Council faces a unique set of challenges that impact community development, including the large geographic size and low population density of the LGA, new urban centres developing in the southern areas of the LGA, an aging population and limited population. Council aimed to address the social impacts of these challenges in a Social Plan, to be informed by community and stakeholder engagement.
These challenges also make for a tough environment for region-wide community engagement processes.
Our Approach
The engagement process aimed to involve as many community members and stakeholders as possible. We used a combination of traditional in-person methods and contemporary online engagement activities to gather input. This allowed us to reach a wide range of people throughout the Council area while being responsive to local contexts.
The engagement process was designed to capture thoughts and desires regarding social needs and aspirations from residents across the Somerset LGA, online and face-to-face. We designed and delivered:
- a project webpage.
- a community survey.
- pop-up events in Esk, Fernvale, Kilcoy, Toogoolawah, Lowood, Moore and Linville.
For some pop-up events, we asked participants to respond to use LEGO® to build an answer to a prompting question. Incorporating LEGO® into some pop-up events provided a non-verbal channel for community members to engage with the project and provide feedback, particularly children and young people.
Results
During the engagement period, we received 174 completed community surveys and spoke with 124 community members at pop-up events. This feedback resulted in over 1500 feedback ideas providing separate ideas, insights and observations.
We analysed and reported on feedback gathering values, opportunities and concerns representing views across the region.
The feedback captured during the engagement process provided detailed insight into community perspectives about the social needs and aspirations of Somerset LGA residents.