Checklist
Planning involves… (refer to Section 4)
- Researching the community, including the community history and any prior consultation
- Identifying key stakeholders, decision makers and appropriate community members
- Identifying and contacting other agencies with expertise and experience in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
- Identifying and contacting other agencies with existing relationships with the community
- Contacting the community through the appropriate channels
- Identifying and discussing issues for the visit, including purpose and objectives, proposed role of community, participants, date, time and venue, language issues
- Sending a letter to the community about the project and proposed meetings
- Identifying what is and what is not negotiable
- Identifying local resource needs and limitations
- Initiating relationships with community contacts and gaining support for the engagement activity
Visiting a community involves…
- Taking guidance from community contacts and being respectful of cultural issues such as land and sea, family and diversity
- Being flexible with timeframes to ensure full participation of community members
- Understanding and applying appropriate meeting protocols
- Gaining agreement of the purpose, expectations and format of the meeting before commencing
- Speaking clearly, actively listening and repeating the outcomes of negotiations
- Maintaining privacy and confidentiality appropriately
- Linking purposes, information and events to local culture and events
- Not making promises you cannot keep
- Being prepared to address multiple and interrelated topics
- Focusing on building partnerships and tangible outcomes
Providing feedback involves… (refer to Section 8)
- Demonstrating the agency’s commitment to delivering agreed outcomes and developing positive relationships
- Encouraging ongoing participation
- Improving relationships