Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
FUNNY, UNUSUAL, MYSTERIOUS: MOMENTS FROM 2024

As 2024 wraps up, our facilitation team is sharing their standout moments. From mysteriously missing catering and questionable gong skills to a surprise bush trek under the stars, 2024 had its fair share of laughs, twists, and unforgettable memories.

FUNNY, UNUSUAL, MYSTERIOUS: MOMENTS FROM 2024
Case studies
Nicole Hunter
CASE STUDY: CITY OF MELBOURNE AFFORDABLE ...

The City of Melbourne views affordable housing as crucial infrastructure for maintaining a liveable, inclusive, and prosperous city. With a projected shortfall of 23,200 affordable homes by 2036, immediate action is needed to address this long-standing issue. While there is broad community support for affordable housing, acceptance often wanes at the neighbourhood level. To tackle this, a People’s Panel of 39 diverse community members was established to represent local perspectives.

CASE STUDY: CITY OF MELBOURNE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PANEL
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
TEAM SPOTLIGHT: POLO, POLLY & GUS

A support facilitator studying psychology, our first team member based in NSW and a brand new participant recruitment coordinator... meet the newest additions to the MosaicLab team: Polo, Polly and Gus! Learn more about this trio of terrific team members and gain some insights into who they REALLY are through their answers to our fast five questions!

TEAM SPOTLIGHT: POLO, POLLY & GUS
Case studies
Nicole Hunter
CASE STUDY: THE TALE OF TWO ENERGY SECTOR ...

How should we plan for the new energy future while providing affordable services that meet changing customer and community needs? Two representative ‘Voice of the Customer’ panels in Queensland answered this question. Randomly selected, everyday customers deliberated and agreed on recommendations that electricity distributors Ergon Energy Network and Energex used to prepare Regulatory Proposals for the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).  Delve into a tale of two deliberative customer panels, and gain ideas and insights you can draw on for your next project.

CASE STUDY: THE TALE OF TWO ENERGY SECTOR CUSTOMER PANELS
Meet MosaicLab, ML Giving
Nicole Hunter
SUPPORTING CONVERSATIONS WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED ...

We believe in supporting emerging and underserved people and communities to have deeper conversations that lead to stronger democracies. ML Giving is the new name of the not-for-profit part of MosaicLab - a banner for the work we do that gives back. We’re focussing on furthering community inclusion and action beyond just getting input and instead moving into enabling local decision-making. Explore the principles ML Giving will operate under, and the kind of projects and conversations we’re supporting.

SUPPORTING CONVERSATIONS WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED MOST

planning

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#MONTHLYMYTH: LOW INFLUENCE = LOW RISK

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#MONTHLYMYTH: LOW INFLUENCE = LOW RISK

This month’s myth addresses mistaken assumption that offering people less influence over a decision translates to the organisation having increased control over the process and outcomes. 

Some engagement processes lend themselves to a lower level of influence than others, However, if the intention is to reduce influence in an attempt to ‘manage’ the process, control outcomes, cut corners or minimise time and resources, organisations can find themselves in hot water. 

Read on for 6 key questions you can ask to determine the right level of influence and a list of helpful reading and resources. 

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#MONTHLYMYTH: PREP THE PLAN FIRST

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#MONTHLYMYTH: PREP THE PLAN FIRST

Want to get the best possible value out of the consultant or facilitator you engage?  Hoping to minimise wasted time, money and resources?  Seeking to deliver an engagement process that’s as effective as possible?  Our tip: don’t develop a detailed engagement methodology before you appoint your consultant. 

This month’s myth explores the potential consequences of this all too common error and provides 4 steps to achieving the best possible return on your consultant investment and delivering an effective process.

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#MONTHLYMYTH: MORE IS MORE

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#MONTHLYMYTH: MORE IS MORE

Often, the purpose of an engagement process (or one phase of an engagement process) is to cast the net wide, capturing as many views and voices as possible.   Often, this is a good approach, particularly at the beginning of a longer engagement process.  What you generally don’t want to aim for, however, is the highest possible volume of feedback and data, with no regard for how useful or informed that input is.

Today we’re highlighting why you might get an overload of responses – many of which aren’t relevant to the issue at hand, why this is a problem, and how you can avoid it for your next process.

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#MonthlyMyth: Glossy, simple content = informed participants

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#MonthlyMyth: Glossy, simple content = informed participants

When you’re preparing information inputs for a community engagement process, organisations can spend a lot of time producing glossy brochures and simplified, summarised content.  It’s easy to get lost in all the posters and paragraphs and lose sight of what’s important - what you’re really saying about the issue or decision at hand.

Getting the balance right can be challenging.  So, in this post we’ll not only address this months myth, we’ll also give you 6 simple tips for providing the right information at the right level of detail.

#MonthlyMyth: Warm up activities have no purpose

#MonthlyMyth: Warm up activities have no purpose

Now and then we hear people say that what you might loosely categorise as ‘warm up’ or ‘introductory’ or ‘getting to know you’ activities are pointless exercises with no real purpose.   It is assumed (perhaps?) that they are something facilitators do just because that’s what facilitators do and they like to ‘play games, not because they have any bearing on the issue at hand or any tangible benefit to the group.

We can’t speak on behalf of all these types of activities (perhaps there are some out there that really are annoying, pointless and fluffy!); however, today, with the kind of activities that an effective, experienced facilitator might use in mind, we’re debunking this myth.