Introduction
What is community engagement?
Community engagement refers to the many ways in which governments connect with citizens in the development and implementation of policies, programs and services.
Engagement covers a wide variety of government-community connections, ranging from information sharing to community consultation and, in some instances, active participation in government policy development and decision-making processes.
Engagement acknowledges the right of citizens to have a say and to get involved in the business of government. Effective community engagement allows government to tap into diverse perspectives
and potential solutions to improve the quality of its decisions.
Queensland Government’s commitment
The Queensland Government has recognised the importance of effective community engagement through the inclusion of Community Engagement and a Better Quality of Life as one of its five key priorities, the establishment of the Community Engagement Division in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, and the development of a Directions Statement for community engagement.
A Community Engagement category has also been included in the Premier’s Awards for Excellence in Public Sector Management to recognise significant achievement and improved community engagement performance by Queensland Government agencies.
The Queensland Government has adopted an integrated, multi-level approach to community engagement. It includes innovations and reforms in Parliament, Executive Government and across Queensland Government agencies (see Figure 1).
This approach incorporates:
- Regional Parliament
- Internet broadcasting of Parliamentary proceedings
- Community Cabinets
- Ministerial Regional Community Forums
- Smart Service Queensland
- online engagement through e-petitions, online consultation and a community engagement website
- a Community Engagement Improvement Strategy for the public sector
Figure 1 Community engagement:an integrated and multi-level approach
The Community Engagement Division is driving the implementation of this integrated and multi-level approach partly by focusing on improving community engagement across the Queensland Public Sector.
Key outcomes of the government’s community engagement commitment will be:
- citizens who are better informed about the government and how to access government services;
- greater involvement of citizens and communities in the business of Parliament and government;
- more effective policies, programs and services which take account of diverse community needs and views; and
- the reduction of barriers to participation so that those unaccustomed or disinclined to work with government can become more involved.
Building Queensland’s regions
The government is helping to build Queensland’s regions by developing effective relationships with regional communities through better engagement practices.
There is growing community expectation that government will identify, acknowledge and address local issues. This requires government to give communities more tailored and accessible services and information, and increased opportunities for input into government decision-making processes.
Effective community engagement identifies opportunities for new types of partnerships between government and communities, and innovative ways to achieve solutions to local problems.
There will be opportunities for citizens of regional communities in Queensland to have their say through online consultation.
The key challenges
The Queensland Government recognises the value and the limitations of traditional approaches to community engagement, and is determined to meet the challenge of changing circumstances and expectations.
Increasing the involvement of people in the government’s deliberations requires a significant shift in the role of the public sector towards greater facilitation of productive and trusting relationships between citizens, communities and government. This shift requires changes to public sector cultures, capabilities,
processes and systems.
Government agencies are improving their engagement practices, increasing public access to information and framing information in ways that are most useful to communities and citizens. However, a commitment to better engagement also requires more coordinated practices by agencies, including aligning engagement activities and sharing resources and information.
This is important because in some communities citizens describe ‘consultation fatigue’, where large amounts of time and commitment are required to participate in frequent, single-agency consultation sessions. Many people express concern at poor past experiences – of not feeling listened to and not receiving appropriate feedback. Others report anxiety about traditional methods such as public meetings or are unclear about where to go and how to have a say.
While many citizens report being ‘disengaged’, there are increasingly explicit expectations that they should be involved in the decisions affecting them, or of particular concern to them. Encouraging the ‘unengaged’ and ‘disengaged’ sectors of our communities to get involved with government will require approaches more tailored to their interests and needs.
Greater community involvement in government processes also requires clarity and effective communication of the roles, relationships and responsibilities of the public sector, elected representatives, Executive Government and the Parliament.
For public officials, there are other challenges too.
These include making informed decisions about:
- the level of engagement – information, consultation or participation – being asked for or offered;
- the most suitable method of engagement;
- accommodating diverse interests and addressing unrealistic expectations;
- who should lead and facilitate the engagement; and
- how the results of engagement will properly inform policy and decision-making.
The contribution of Queensland Government agencies
The Community Engagement Improvement Strategy recognises the many community engagement activities and achievements of Queensland Government agencies. The following recent initiatives incorporate a range of community engagement practices:
- Meeting Challenges, Making Choices – the Queensland Government’s response to the Cape York Justice Study
- Mapping the Future: a discussion paper for Queensland women and girls
- Queensland’s Youth Participation Strategy
- Community Renewal
- Education and Training Reforms for the Future
- Health 2020
- Smart State: Smart Stories
- Queensland Regulations: Have Your Say
The Framework for Improving Community Engagement in Land and Resources Business developed by Queensland Government land and resources agencies also contributes to the community engagement priority. This framework outlines how land and resources agencies will work together to promote
and improve community engagement for better land use.
Community Engagement Improvement Strategy
The Community Engagement Division, in collaboration with all Queensland Government agencies, developed the Community Engagement Improvement Strategy in 2002. The strategy
supports the government’s commitment to increase the involvement of Queenslanders in a range of government processes and deliberations.
It is designed to:
- produce resources and tools to assist the public sector in developing and delivering effective engagement programs and activities;
- highlight and develop good community engagement practices, including engagement with Indigenous communities;
- improve engagement coordination across the public sector;
- build leadership capability for more effective engagement; and
- build engagement skills and knowledge into recruitment and selection processes, and performance management systems.
During implementation focus will be on:
- reaching out to those who are unaccustomed, uncomfortable or uninterested in working with government;
- increasing opportunities for active participation by Queenslanders in government processes; and
- improving coordination of the government’s engagement activities.
Implementation of the Improvement Strategy
The strategy’s initiatives will be implemented through a coordinated and staged approach led by the Community Engagement Division. However, there will be opportunities for individual agencies to lead or to be involved in the implementation of various initiatives.
The implementation process will recognise the unique contributions each agency has to offer and will acknowledge the specific circumstances and issues being faced by agencies.
Agencies will be encouraged to determine their community engagement strengths and to devise improvements that can be made over the next two years. They will also be encouraged to take a more coordinated approach to working with citizens and communities at local, regional or State levels.
Some agencies have already created community engagement units or designated positions to coordinate agency engagement. Some agencies are developing or updating community engagement guides, while others are looking at enhancing their training and development.
The Community Engagement Division will lead the strategic direction of improved community engagement across the public sector, provide advice and guidance to agencies where relevant, improve coordination, and deliver a range of showcasing events.
The overall result of the coordinated implementation process will be the delivery of major government community engagement priorities and the development of a public sector culture and systems that support effective community engagement practices.
Agency reporting
Queensland Government agencies will be required to report on community engagement activities in their annual reports, highlighting ways in which improved community engagement has delivered better outcomes for communities aligned with the government’s five key priorities.
Agencies will also be asked to provide details of community engagement activities and steps taken to improve practices for an annual report to be prepared by the Community Engagement Division.
Review of government processes
As part of the Improvement Strategy’s implementation process, the Community Engagement Division will participate in reviews of central processes and documents, such as the Cabinet and Policy Handbooks.
The Division will also work with Treasury to improve the community engagement components of the Priorities in Progress Report under the Charter of Social and Fiscal Responsibility.
