This award recognises initiatives and outcomes in implementing best practice public engagement that achieves genuine collaborative outcomes that leads to improved built form, ACG次元网 processes or social outcomes. This award is not about the extent of engagement undertaken but the influence, improvement and capacity building that was achieved through the engagement. This award is about genuine and meaningful engagement with stakeholders and the community.
It is awarded for engagement work undertaken by or with a planner, planning organisation, government organisation, consultants or a member of the community for a policy, scheme, project, process or event.
The award illustrates how a neighbourhood, community group, key stakeholder or other local non-governmental entity influenced or utilised the stakeholder engagement process to address a specific need or issue within the community.
Meet the nominees:
NSW Nominee: Robertson Village Place Plan
Wingecarribee Shire Council
This project was undertaken following a period of immense change and growth for Council during the period under Administration since March 2021. One of the immediate priorities was to rebuild trust and strengthen relations between Council and its community. The Robertson Village Place Plan - a Community led Plan – does just this. Reflecting a genuine partnership approach, Council sought for the community to be involved right from the very beginning, through every step of the development of the Plan, and continuing with its implementation. Some 25% of projects in the Plan will be led by the community.
Working pro-actively with the community, the engagement was achieved through a range of methods, while the focus was on face-to-face workshops. These sought to build capacity within both the community and the Council to assist with the next stage of implementing the Place Plan and beyond.
QLD Nominee: New Ipswich ACG次元网 Scheme (Ipswich Plan 2024)
Ipswich City Council and Articulous
City Council’s decision to undertake an extensive, non-mandatory community education campaign prior to the legally required public notification period of its new planning scheme is an exemplar of innovation in stakeholder engagement.
Ipswich City Council’s decision to implement a pre-formal notification tool for its new planning scheme shows an authentic approach to core planning engagement to empower communities to comment about the future that can be replicated across local governments state-wide and nationally.
SA Nominee: Equine Strategy Engagement
Adelaide Plains Council
It is commendable the effort that the Council made to engage with stakeholders on the Equine Strategy, which was sensitively considered in view of the varying community views and expectations. The engagement was meaningful, focused on the facts and the inter-relationships between the varying issues. In doing so, the strategy delivered a balanced policy outcome.
TAS Nominee: Seven Mile Beach Local Area Plan
Niche Studio, Clarence City Council, and Entura.
This project is a great example of best practice stakeholder engagement for community planning. As with most projects of this nature, it started with a well-defined scope of what it wanted to achieve –in this case, listening to the community to inform the Local Area Plan nfor the Seven Mile Beach area. However, shortly after the consultation began, the scope had to be adjusted to also focus on other community concerns. In doing this, the project team not only demonstrated adaptability but also meaningful engagement.
VIC Nominee: The Place Shaper Kit
Victorian Planning Authority
The Place Shaper Kit (the PSK) is an original collaboration and engagement tool developed by the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) to provide a new and innovative way in engaging with stakeholders on spatial plans. The PSK is inspired from a “city building” style board game and is made up of various interchangeable elements: clear perspex boards that are overlayed on base plan maps, chalk pens and chips that are numbered or show icons. Activity sheets guide questions to direct the flow of activities and the pens, chips and icons are used to reflect the planning decision, which is then built upon in the next activity to communicate layered complex options. The PSK is utilised at in-person workshops with a table facilitator guiding proceedings and a table scribe taking notes.
WA Nominee: Wellard Village 7 Day Makeover
City of Kwinana and RAC
The project demonstrates how local residents can be empowered to transform their neighbourhood, using a dynamic, fast paced, enjoyable and action-oriented approach, engaging people of all walks of life to get involved and make significant changes to an area. It also has provided a catalyst for Kwinana to build strong and enduring relationships with its community. Significantly the seven-day makeover project has fostered inter-generational connections with a sense of shared ownership and identity in the Wellard Village neighbourhood centre.