Researching best practice engagement approaches and activities to design a community and stakeholder engagement plan to support the development of Council’s Growth Strategy.
Situation Explained
As the Cairns local government area (LGA) continues to grow, Cairns Regional Council (CRC) is developing a strategy to guide how this growth will be accommodated and managed.
Cairns is a large local government area and different areas within the region have very different local character and identities. These different identities can mean wide-spread community engagement processes can be challenging. It can also be challenging to engage the community in strategic planning projects, given the long timeframes. However, building widespread awareness and receiving meaningful feedback on these projects is vital. A successful engagement process can:
- communicate the opportunities that come with growth
- build acceptance within the community
- help the community understand the trade-offs required to protect their values
- build ownership of long-term statutory planning processes.
Leisa Prowse Consulting was engaged by CRC to design a community and stakeholder engagement plan to support the development of Council’s Growth Strategy.
Our Approach
To develop the community and stakeholder engagement plan and toolkit, Leisa Prowse Consulting:
- facilitated a series of engagement planning workshops with Council staff and Councillors
- researched best practice engagement approaches for similar projects nationally and internationally
- developed the engagement plan and toolkit.
The developed community and stakeholder engagement plan and toolkit outlined:
- project scope
- purpose of engagement
- local and relevant stakeholders
- potential issues, risks and mitigation measures
- engagement approach
- key messages
- suite of engagement tools, with a short explanation of how and when to implement each tool
- implementation plan for the engagement process.
The engagement plan documented a 4 stage engagement process that would focus on:
- having robust, respective and two-way iterative conversations
- informing and educating
- leveraging networks and events
- responding to lifestyle and communication needs.
With these principles in mind, the plan and toolkit provided an approach that could be used to capture the interest and imagination of the people of the Cairns region.
Results
CRC issued the engagement plan and toolkit as part of their process to procure consultancy support to develop the Growth Strategy.
Leisa Prowse Consulting, as a part of the Towards 2050 Collective, is helping CRC to deliver the community and stakeholder engagement plan and toolkit. The Towards 2050 project launched in mid-2022.