Community engagement techniques

Community engagement techniques are processes to facilitate engagement. There are a range of techniques that can be used to involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in government planning and decision making.

Some techniques are designed to share information or elicit views and opinions, while others aim to involve individuals and communities in deliberations with government. In choosing a technique consideration should be given to:

• the nature of the issue (single issue and interest group focus, or multilayered affecting the broader community)
• whether the issue is and should remain a community issue and not government business
• the nature of the community
• the literacy level of engagement participants
• the location of the community (remote, regional or urban)
• past experiences with government or with other engagement that will affect willingness/capacity to be involved in an engagement activity
• timeframes (urgent, long term)
• the profile of an issue (potential for media interest or conflict)
• the amount of resources available for engagement
• the breadth of the issue (does it cut across other agency issues or other levels of government?)
• the negotiables and non-negotiables
• the purpose and objectives of engagement (to gather information or to test options).

Following are some examples of community engagement techniques that can be used to enable information sharing, consultation and active participation techniques.

Information-sharing techniques

Information sharing is generally considered a two-way process during which information about particular community issues can be provided and feedback received. The purpose for choosing this method needs to be clearly stated at the beginning of any engagement planning.

Education and awareness programs

Effective education and awareness programs can raise community awareness about an issue. Displays, for example, can inform the public and stimulate individuals and communities to participate in an engagement activity. Possibilities include a display at community events, schools and local community or sports centres. The inclusion of artwork, photos and posters which depict Indigenous people can be a powerful way to convey a message or outcome in a nonverbal way. A display may be more effective if it is staffed by someone with knowledge about the issue and the engagement activity.

Other examples of engagement activities for education and awareness programs include the distribution of DVDs and videoconferences if increasing awareness is required and resources such as time, travel costs or staff are limited. In communities with a high number of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander residents, a number of organisations may employ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff who have some responsibility for supporting education or awareness programs.

Partnering those staff, with the consent of their organisations, can often enhance the effectiveness of education programs.

Newsletters and media articles

Newsletters are an effective means of sustaining interest throughout a community engagement activity that may run over a period of time. Typically, newsletters are targeted at individuals and stakeholders who are most interested in the issue. They enable agencies to provide regular feedback on the engagement process and the contribution made by participants. It is important to consider literacy issues when preparing written material and to use appropriate language.

Stories and/or advertisements can be placed in community newsletters, magazines or newspapers such as the Koori Mail, National Indigenous Times and Torres News. Other media outlets may include community radio stations, such as the National Indigenous Radio Service, government publications, or the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships websites www.communities.qld.gov.au or www.mcmc.qld.gov.au

Community events/meetings

Community events/meetings can be organised as part of an engagement activity, or the engagement activities could be planned to coincide with existing community events/meetings. Attendance at existing events/meetings makes good use of community infrastructure, demonstrates respect for community processes and can lead to more coordinated engagement. Participation should always be negotiated in advance with local organisers.

A community event, such as a fete, can provide a relaxed and enjoyable venue for sharing information. As well as being an opportunity for distributing information, both community meetings and events may also generate opportunities for consultation or active participation.

Meetings

Face-to-face meetings with individuals or small groups are a popular and important way to share and discuss issues. This can be an effective way of imparting information to people who do not like attending public forums. Meetings are an important step in ‘talking up the business’ and building trust. For these reasons, meetings often need to precede other engagement processes.

It is important that meetings are held at a convenient time and date and are held in a space where people feel safe to share their views. At one-on-one meetings some participants may feel more comfortable if they are able to bring a support person. Catering should be considered when planning some meetings.

Consultation techniques

Consultations generally are a two-way process during which exploration of issues and sharing of information can occur. Consultations can be conducted either on their own or parallel to information sharing and active participation.

Protocols for consultation and negotiation with Aboriginal people (1998), and Mina Mir Lo Ailan Mun – Proper communication with Torres Strait Islander people (1998) describe a range of verbal and non-verbal communication issues to be mindful of when consulting with and seeking more active participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Focus groups

A focus group brings together a number of people to discuss a predetermined issue in depth. The purpose is to encourage frank discussions which highlight people’s perceptions, feelings and opinions about the issue. It is important to have a skilled facilitator who allows all members of the group to participate, to provide a comfortable venue and to ensure that participants feel confident about expressing their views. Prior to a meeting, a skilled facilitator can encourage participants to take an interest in the topic as well as provide support and incentives to ensure good attendance.

Depending on the issue being discussed, it may be worthwhile to hold a number of focus groups targeting different parts of the community. For example a young people’s group, a men’s group or a group of local government staff. The venue for such discussions needs to be chosen in consultation with the communities and groups involved.

One-on-one interviews

People will often provide much more information in a one-on-one interview or discussion than they will in a public forum. Although interviewing everyone in a community is often not possible, two or three days may allow enough time to establish a presence in a community and to talk with key community stakeholders on a number of occasions in different environments. This can be important if community members are to consult with others before providing their final responses. It is important to consider that interviews offer significant information that is difficult to obtain in any other way.

In an engagement that lasts over a period of time there may be a need to conduct a round of interviews near the beginning of the process to gather information, and one or two other rounds at key stages in the process to determine progress.

Online engagement

Online technology can provide a very cost-effective means to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly in remote and regional areas. However, this technology should generally be used only to augment or support, not replace, face-to-face engagement and consultation.

Not all stakeholders will have the necessary English language and computer literacy skills, or access to the Internet, to engage online. If computer technology is available, supportive community members may help to provide skills, knowledge and opportunities for the community to become involved in online engagement.

If online engagement is an option a website or email-based consultation potentially offers the following:

• timely, accurate information
• information about an engagement process and a historical record of what has happened so far
• a tool for geographically dispersed communities to share ideas and experiences, and to discuss responses to consultation questions
• a way for government to invite community stakeholders to comment on specific proposals and a means of receiving feedback
• an interactive medium that allows discussion and debate.

Videoconferencing

Videoconference technology offers a cost-effective means, providing virtual ‘face-to-face’ communication with some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. By October 2004, a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Queensland had secured access to public videoconference systems. Up to 14 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the Cape York region, and 17 Torres Strait Islander communities in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula region, accessed community-based videoconference systems in 2004.

Where videoconference systems are in place they have been used to support and enhance community engagement and to augment service delivery. For example a number of Torres Strait Islander women at a remote island community were able to access medical counselling services that were not available locally because of high travel costs. A number of state government agencies have used this technology to economically support face-to-face consultations about infrastructure projects in other Torres Strait communities.

Videoconference systems are also used to support visits between a person in custody and their family. This allows families to have ‘virtual’ visits with relatives who are in custody for a fraction of the cost of a face-to-face visit. Videoconferencing has been used in youth detention centres since December 2003, and there are public access sites provided through Women’s Justice Networks, health centres or legal aid offices.

Active participation techniques

Active participation techniques move beyond information sharing and consultation techniques in that they require a more deliberate participative component. The decision-making process between government and community needs to be clearly defined when planning to use such techniques.

Partnerships

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines partnerships as systems of formalised cooperation, grounded in legally binding arrangements or informal understandings, cooperative working relationships and mutually adopted plans.

Partnerships often involve agreements on policy, program or service delivery objectives and the sharing of responsibility, resources, risks and benefits over a specified period of time.

Partnerships can establish stability in a turbulent environment created by economic, social and political changes. They often involve participants who have first-hand knowledge of the problems at ground level and adopt a multiagency approach to multidimensional problems.

Involving stakeholders in partnerships creates empowerment and ownership which can establish sustainable outcomes and a culture of self-help. In an effective partnership:

• there is a clear identity and role expectation for the partnership
• there is a clear identity and role expectation for each partner
• all partners have shared aims and objectives and work together to achieve them
• the partnership process and outcomes are both effectively resourced.

The Queensland Government has a strong commitment to developing partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as articulated in the Partnerships Queensland document.

Negotiation tables

As noted earlier, negotiation tables are a sustained process of consultation, planning and negotiation between community leaders and senior public officials to negotiate agreements on community priorities. They enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to directly participate in negotiations with government about responses to community priorities through innovative approaches to service delivery.

Negotiation tables are the primary interface for whole-of-government and whole-of-community partnerships. The output of a negotiation table is a shared responsibility agreement and a community action plan that identifies key actions which will make a difference to that community. Community action plans are negotiated and then signed by both parties to ensure their objectives are achieved.

Agencies wishing to actively engage Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people in urban or remotecommunities via a negotiation table are encouraged to contact the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships which has lead agency responsibility for convening and supporting these initiatives.

Policy Action Teams

Policy Action Teams are responsible for an intensive program of policy development around a particular issue; for example antisocial behaviour in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. Teams represent a cross-section of government departments, as well as experts from the community, industry and tertiary sectors.

Experience in the United Kingdom suggests that teams work best when tackling policy issues that need to involve stakeholders from across the social spectrum and when it is important to have stakeholders take ownership of issues at local or service delivery level.

The teams bring together expertise from those ‘on the ground’ with that of public officials who have been working on the relevant issue, often in isolation. While policy action teams are encouraged to engage in ‘blue-skies’ or innovative thinking and problem solving, all their recommendations must be evidence-based.

Where relevant, the team may work in the community affected by the policy issue to gain first-hand experience. Teams are often chaired by a senior public official and have a ‘champion’ Director-General who is assigned to take a proactive role in the work of the team. A lead agency provides secretariat support and careful consideration is given as to how the team can maximise the contribution of communities to the policy issue and what capacity building is required to support that contribution.

Policy action teams are potentially best suited to addressing issues that are complex, cut across traditional departmental boundaries and require innovative and new perspectives.

Learning circles

Learning circles are an effective, practical and democratic method for small groups (generally 5–20) to come together to discuss and learn about issues that are important to them and their community. They have been used for many years to help explore social and political issues and provide a forum to make decisions and take action.

Learning circles can be held over a number of weeks with weekly sessions lasting around two hours. Theywork best when well facilitated to ensure that discussion is focused and fair, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute. As the name suggests, participants should sit in a circle so they can see all other participants. As each session progresses participants share previous experiences, recall good and bad memories and describe feelings associated with a topic. Providing people with the opportunity to describe events and feelings in their own way, and in their own time, is a useful way of encouraging participation by a diverse range of participants and can often be a more comfortable process for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than formal meetings or forums.

Learning circles are a good way to uncover opinions and feelings about a topic. They can be used at the start of a discussion to garner people’s ideas, to measure people’s understanding about issues, and to explore contentious topics. Providing pre-reading material before a session can be useful to assist focusing the discussion. Throughout the process participants are encouraged to keep an open mind and make an effort to understand and value different views.

Reference groups

Reference groups are made up of invited community or agency representatives with an interest in a given topic. Reference groups can provide government with highly specific information from a local community perspective which can be critical to the success of a policy, program or service delivery initiative.

Recruitment of the reference group members needs careful consideration and some form of community endorsement. It is important to consider the capacity, knowledge and time members have to both represent their group or community and participate effectively. Once recruited, reference group members attend regular meetings to represent their group or community’s views and to provide input into the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies.

Consideration needs to be given to meeting times, travel arrangements, expenses and publishing of activities to generate and sustain interest and energy.

Nominal group workshops

Nominal group workshops are based on the idea that any reasonably representative group with an interest in a topic can identify and prioritise almost all of the associated issues.

At a nominal group workshop each participant identifies a major issue and associated challenges relating to the topic. All issues are listed and participants vote on the issues that they feel are most important. The issues are then ranked according to the number of votes they receive. Following prioritisation there is a discussion, guided by the facilitator, on the results of the process. Once the priorities are confirmed, action plans for addressing the agreed priorities can be developed.

Community forums and public meetings

Community forums and public meetings provide opportunities for a community to discuss their issues. A number of factors need to be considered when planning such events including the timing and goal of the forum, the political environment, legislative considerations, historical contexts, resources, policy and planning cycles. It is also important to consider the level of corporate commitment to engaging and being influenced by feedback from participants.

An open and broad discussion on a range of issues can be used to gather different community views. When properly managed, public forums and meetings can be a valuable tool to encourage further participation.

Risk management strategies need to be carefully considered when planning public meetings. The use of a skilled facilitator can considerably minimise risks. Some topics cannot be discussed appropriately in large forums. Local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community contacts will generally provide advice as to the suitability of holding a public meeting.