councils

COUNCILS, ARE YOU READY FOR DELIBERATION ROUND #2?

COUNCILS, ARE YOU READY FOR DELIBERATION ROUND #2?

There’s a new round of engagement on the way for local government in Victoria. You need to start now if you want to achieve a process that meets the requirements of the Local Government Act 2020, works around key dates and council elections, incorporates a wider engagement process and delivers useful outputs for their council and community. This isn’t easy. So, to help, we’ve created a short, free guide that you can download today. This free ebook includes a roadmap outlining timelines and phasing, biggest lessons learned from 11 local government deliberations in round one, advice from council leaders and decision makers, a guide to scaling your deliberation based on budget and more.

CASE STUDY: 11 TRANSFORMATIVE COUNCIL DELIBERATIONS

CASE STUDY: 11 TRANSFORMATIVE COUNCIL DELIBERATIONS

When 10 councils give real influence to their communities, we see real change, real impact and trusted decisions that increase faith in democratic processes.

This case study explores 11 deliberative engagement journeys and the profound impact they have had on councils, communities decision makers and participants.

DOMINANT VOICES IN DELIBERATION

DOMINANT VOICES IN DELIBERATION

Effective engagement is inclusive of a diverse range of perspectives. In deliberative processes, this is critical, as deliberation is underpinned by representativeness. When one or a few voices dominate the conversation, this becomes difficult to achieve. In this article we consider some ways to navigate this common issue.

MAKING A DECLARATION IS THE EASY PART

MAKING A DECLARATION IS THE EASY PART

Globally, 1,807 local government bodies, such as municipal councils, have declared a climate emergency within the past 5 years. But making a declaration is the easy part. Partnering with the community to come up with responses to such a momentous and complicated challenge is not something that every council is willing to take on. But those who do will be rewarded with ideas and momentum from the community that council cannot possibly achieve on its own.

In this article we share with you a story of a local council in Victoria who has partnered with their community to respond to the climate emergency together.

DELIBERATIVE PRACTICES FOR COUNCILS - WHERE TO START

DELIBERATIVE PRACTICES FOR COUNCILS - WHERE TO START

As Victorian local councils face a local government election on October 24th and the induction of a new Council they are also implementing a new Local Government Act. Amongst the myriad of changes in the 2020 Act are new provisions for community engagement. This is a major step change in seeking to put communities at the centre of local government decision making.

Many councils would be wondering what they need to do meet these requirements, particularly the one about deliberative practices.

LGA REVIEW: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT

LGA REVIEW: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNCIL ENGAGEMENT

A new Local Government Act is on the way in Victoria, with submissions on the the Exposure Draft of the Local Government Bill to close this Friday.    The draft signals some changes to expectations around community engagement - a shift that is set to impact how councils engage in a number of ways.

In this post, we're summarising the key changes proposed in relation to engagement and highlighting what this might mean for councils and how they engage in the future.