Stakeholder Engagement Resource Hub

Thriving Communities Partnership and Thinkrum have shared some practical tips and tools to consider when you are facilitating meetings and events. Here are some of the best:

1. Before a meeting, ask if there are communications preferences (online, offline, hybrid etc.) to ensure every staff member can contribute and engage effectively
2. Identify a note taker for meetings or install captions
3. Where possible, provide content prior to the meeting to create clearer communication and better prepare your staff
4. Think about the location of your staff and if it is possible to collaborate in person to assist those who might prefer this
5. Utilise accessibility features like the “immersive reader” on Microsoft whiteboard and Google’s “jamboard” to provide more inclusive support for staff with diverse need

Here is the full list.

Adequate or good community engagement is not about reaching complete consensus or giving the community or a particular stakeholder group their preferred outcome on a project (although sometimes not getting the outcome they want is the reason why some stakeholders criticise a project or it engagement processes). After all, good community engagement should consider the needs and preferences of all stakeholders, and reflect their feedback and needs in the decisions and outcome.

Read more here

It's fabulous to be working in a sector that values stakeholder engagement. Late in 2018, Essential Energy received the Energy Network Consumer Engagement Award for engagement with consumers as part of preparing the 2019-24 Regulatory Proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). An award like this goes a long way toward gaining recognition and support within the business that engagement matters and is an important strategic priority. 

To be innovative and shape the future of our business we need to involve people from the get-go, to ensure our plans make sense. It's exciting to be part of an evolving organisation, with engagement practice being built into divisional plans and the drive for stakeholder engagement being picked up across the business.

Each time we host an engagement session we have the opportunity to learn and improve our engagement activities and practice.

Please use the End of Session Survey to seek feedback at the end of your engagement session.

The IAP2 framework is underpinned by seven Core Values for decision-focused, values-based public participation.

1.  Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.

2.  Public participation includes the promise that the public’s contribution will influence the decision.

3.  Public participation promotes sustainable decisions by recognising and communicating the needs and interests of all participants, including decision makers.

4.  Public participation seeks out and facilitates the involvement of those potentially affected by or interested in a decision.

5.  Public participation seeks input from participants in designing how they participate.

6.  Public participation provides participants with the information they need to participate in a meaningful way.

7.  Public participation communicates to participants how their input affected the decision.

IAP2 has developed a Quality Assurance Standard for Community and Stakeholder Engagement which is based on these Core Values and is a valuable tool to assess engagement activities at each phase of your engagement program.