Take a peek at some of the online training sessions and workshops MosaicLab has been facilitating over the past few weeks. From community meetings to strategic plans and webinars to training courses - we’ve been very busy in the digital space this past month.
Because we’re always keen to share our learnings and insights, we’re preparing some in-depth, online engagement case studies. We know that, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of you are looking to transition existing engagement projects online, or are planning ahead for a future process built around digital delivery. So, we’re pulling case studies together that provide useful and actionable ideas and inspiration you can apply to your process or project.
In the meantime though … here’s just a taste of what we’re working on (and a sneak peek at possible case studies to come!).
SNAPSHOT: DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT PROJECTS UNDERWAY
“It’s always good to hear from different people and it’s great that these are still happening even with current circumstances, as it is important for recovery. ”
IGEM Bushfire Inquiry - community meetings
MosaicLab is facilitating community meetings as part of the independent inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian Fire Season being conducted by the Inspector General for Emergency Management (IGEM).
Seven ‘face-to-face’ meetings were run across regional Victoria before sessions were transitioned online in response to COVID-19. Ten online workshops are now being delivered for remaining locations, bringing together remotely-based participants from multiple parts of the state.
It’s vital that the Inquiry considers the views and experiences of the Victorian community before, during and after the fires. Adaptation of the sessions, while still ensuring a supported space for open feedback and sharing, has been essential to ensure this important conversation continues.
“The online facilitation and instructions... were really clear and made a difference for the participants (gave them confidence)... and the content from the original training module translated really well.”
DELWP Leading Engagement Training
MosaicLab is supporting the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to build engagement skills and capacity in internal leaders. When COVID-19 started impacting Australia just a few weeks ago, we rapidly transitioned our planned face-to-face course into an interactive, online format.
The session, which involved 16 leaders from across the department, integrated methods and tools such as digital polls and surveys, small group ‘breakout’ discussions and delivery of electronic resources and materials.
“ (I appreciated) the flexibility to move to an online workshop with little effort from my perspective. Actually eased some of the workload related to logistics (such as) venue, catering etc.
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Phillip Island Wildlife Plan
MosaicLab ran a webinar and online workshop for a range of stakeholders as part of a project to develop the Phillip Island Wildlife Plan.
The webinar component of the session sought to both inform stakeholders about the work undertaken to date. Participants also identified existing activities that supported strategies in the plan. The workshop then supported the group to collaboratively identify actions that would help deliver the plan.
Originally planned as a face-to-face session, this workshop adapted to an online format in response to COVID-19. Participants worked together - both in small ‘breakout’ rooms and as a whole group - to learn, share perspectives and develop a way forward towards implementation.
“The best part of the experience was having ‘breakouts’, the fast pace, having (MosaicLab’s) expertise in the room, the smoothness of the IT and the positive contributions from the group. It went fast and was satisfying.
We’ve moved and matured the approach to engagement... and encouraged true collaboration for the next phase.”
Horsham City to River co-design sessions
This week MosaicLab facilitated an online engagement co‐design process for the development of a community engagement plan on behalf of the Horsham Rural City Council. The engagement process is part of a landscape design project for the riverfront precinct.
In place of one full day, face-to-face workshop, MosaicLab delivered multiple, two-hour online sessions (four with the full project team and two with a smaller group).
Sessions included integration of a range of online tools including Zoom and Google Docs to support collaborative group development of a community engagement plan in a digital format.
“Thanks MosaicLab team! You guys did a fabulous job facilitating online, VERY engaging and totally impressive! Would LOVE to know how you broke everyone up into separate zoom rooms - you guys ROCK! ”
Continuous connections discussion series - engagement in the time of COVID-19
In case you hadn’t heard yet… MosaicLab has launched a new, fortnightly discussion series to support organisations and engagement professionals to navigate and continue to engage in a rapidly changing world.
The first session, which addressed the topic of ‘connecting with communities during COVID-19 without appearing ‘tone-deaf’’, saw more than 80 people from across Australia connect, share and learn as they grappled with this very current dilemma.
These online, facilitated and interactive sessions go well beyond your ‘standard’ webinar, and are a collaborative, free learning experience.
WANT TO MOVE YOUR PROJECT OR PROCESS FORWARD?
COVID-19 is having significant impacts across our community. We’re aware of the pressures organisations will be under to adjust, adapt and continue delivering services and outcomes within this changing environment.
We offer a range of online and remotely delivered services. and we’ve been refining these services to meet differing project needs within the current environment.
How do we engage during COVID-19 without appearing ‘tone-deaf’?
We can support you and your team to change and readjust to a new world. To help you acclimatise, we’ve put together two exclusive service options, including our ‘engaging through difficult times’ mentoring, coaching and training option.
If you’re worried about engaging with people who might be anxious during this COVID-19 crisis, if you want or need to engage on something but concerned about appearing insensitive to what people are going through, we can support you to build you and/or your team’s confidence and capacity.
Learn more about our ‘engaging through difficult times’ package →
What if we can’t deliver engagement right now?
During this time of disruption, upheaval, some engagement processes may simply need to pause. Not every process, session or issue might immediately suit an online format, and some projects simply aren’t relevant or appropriate in this environment.
However, that doesn’t mean that you need to stop moving forward. Now is the time to plan ahead. Good engagement starts with considered design, and there’s never been a better opportunity to invest in considered planning. That might mean adjusting or refocusing an existing process, or developing an effective strategy for a future engagement approach.
MosaicLab are specialists in strategic planning for effective engagement. We offer a wide range of online, facilitated options including digitally delivered engagement planning co-design sessions and online strategic planning workshops
OVER TO YOu
What online or remotely based conversation or engagement activities have you seen or been involved in since COVID-19 entered our world? We’d love to hear about your experiences. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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