As we wrap up 2025, we’ve been thinking about the people we’ve had the privilege of working with and the conversations we’ve been honoured to support over the last twelve months. We’re also looking forward, and we expect to see continual shifts in engagement practice in 2026. From AI becoming BAU for enabling more effective conversations to new ways to increase representativeness, shifts are underway. In this post, we share our standout stats for 2025, and a video previewing three of the big trends we think organisations should be thinking about for their engagement programs in the new year.
Improving access to primary health care for multicultural communities was the focus of the North West Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) community panel. Supported by an innovative AI tool, the panel developed practical recommendations and funding ideas for NWMPHN’s federal submission. This process highlighted the importance of genuine community involvement and continues to inform NWMPHN’s place-based health initiatives, showing that addressing barriers to care requires more than policy.
MosaicLab and Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation co-designed a Code of Conduct training that brought values to life. Over a day and a half, staff explored ethics and workplace behaviour through real-life scenarios, cultural storytelling, and hands-on activities - then shaped the Code in their own words, images, and symbols. The process built clarity, connection, and confidence - and ensured the team has a Code that’s lived, not just learned.
We don’t just facilitate conversations - we design them with purpose, strategy, and care. In under three minutes, our new video lifts the lid on what really happens behind the scenes at MosaicLab. It’s not just about what we do, but how and why we do it - and what makes our work different. Come take a look - this time, we’re the story.
Have a challenging issue to tackle but lack the resources for meaningful engagement? ML Giving is MosaicLab’s not-for-profit division and we’re here to help. We support emerging and under-served communities in fostering deeper conversations that drive real change. We believe everyone deserves a voice in shaping their communities. Learn how you can apply to work with us.
Development of a high-level engagement framework, policy or strategy is an important step in building an engaging organisation. Having this document finalised, however, does not indicate that the hard work is over.
To truly embed engagement across an organisation, overarching strategies must be brought to life through implementation. Today, we're addressing this myth by providing 10 ways to start embedding engagement across the organisation and see your engagement strategy put into practice.
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.
We’re committed to sharing our learnings, contributing to the practice of quality engagement and supporting others to improve their engagement skills wherever we can.
As part of this commitment, today we’re responding to an engagement challenge put forward by one of the subscribers to our e-newsletter The Discussion. The issue this subscriber is facing is: 'Engaging with people when there is a mixed level of knowledge about a subject. ‘
It’s an easy trap to fall into, and an approach that’s often taken as a matter of course – solidify your organisation’s position before you engage with any external community or stakeholders. While this may appear (in the short term) to make your organisation feel more ready to engage, it actually undermines many of the objectives of a robust engagement process.
There are many ways our brains actively work to bias our thinking and, therefore, our decision making. Each of these different sorts of biases can stop us from seeing an issue from a different perspective.
This tendency can limit our understanding of new and different evidence and therefore restrict our ability to make the best overall decision/s. By understanding these biases and using different tools to help question others and ourselves we can access more information and weigh up data more thoroughly.
So, to help you out, we’ve provided a new, free download highlighting six of the most common brain biases that affect our everyday decision making – because identifying them is the hardest part!
A Research and Development Note detailing the process and outcomes of a recent study we worked on with Lyn Carson of Active Democracy and the newDemocracy Foundation has been published.
The study considers the question - How can we enhance the ability of randomly-selected citizens in mini-publics (such as citizens’’ juries) to understand and evaluate expert evidence?
The 'Participatory Democracy - Exploring Experiences' session at the IPAA Public Sector Week 2017 featured active, experiential learning and an interactive discussion with a group of diverse panellists.
Attendees experienced a mini, deliberative discussion, answering the question: 'what are the biggest challenges facing the public sector when it comes to gaining trust in the community?'. The group then engaged in an energetic Q&A with the panel which included specialist consultants and public sector representatives with extensive experience in using deliberative engagement to help tackle major public policy challenges.
Facilitated by MosaicLab, the workshop saw great ideas generated and invaluable knowledge shared. The discussion was relevant to anyone working in the public sector (and beyond), so, today we're sharing a snapshot of the ideas generated and a summary of the Q&A discussion - a fabulous, free resource for anyone interested in quality engagement or participatory processes.
Did you see last month's invaluable deliberation insights post? We shared a video chock full of ideas and advice from project managers who had been through a deliberative journey.
This month, we're sharing the second video in this series - insights from decision makers who have led their organisations though a deliberative engagement experience.
In June 2017 we ran our first ever Deliberation Ready Training session for leaders, managers and decision makers in Melbourne. The day was designed to help participants get themselves and their organisation ready for a successful journey into deliberative engagement.
Because we love to share resources and are always seeking to help others to improve their engagement skills and processes, we are giving you free, exclusive access to one of our fabulous Deliberation Ready Training resources our participants had access to during their session.
Advisory committees – we love them and we hate them – and we can’t stop setting them up. They're possibly the number one method of engagement in Australia.
When used effectively, these groups (also called stakeholder/community reference groups and a whole host of other titles) can provide an opportunity to gather local knowledge and input, test ideas and proposals and improve communication and relationships. However, when used improperly, run poorly, or put in place as a substitute for a comprehensive engagement process, they can create more risk than reward.
This post will help you to overcome some of the biggest challenges associated with advisory committees, and ensure that both organisation and group benefits from the experience.
