BALANCING COST, RISK & BEST-PRACTICE THROUGH A TROUBLED TIME

MosaicLab - engagement, facilitation and COVID-19

TWO SUPPORTIVE SERVICE OPTIONS HAVE JUST LANDED

Need to battle through the elements and engage robustly, cost-effectively and compliantly?

It takes time, effort and resources to achieve best practice engagement at the best of times. And right now it’s not the best of times. We’re hearing from many that engaging at all (let alone engaging well) seems difficult. That changing circumstances and competing pressures are making you feel overwhelmed or stuck, and that you’re uncertain about how to proceed.

Your organisation may be grappling with how to respond to the crisis, facing reduced revenue and budget cuts, responding to increased demand for community support and services, and wondering how to sustain it all long term. Local government bodies are also working to comply with the enhanced engagement requirements set out in the Local Government Act.

Throughout this pandemic, we’ve been working hard to support organisations and engagement professionals to connect effectively with their communities, stakeholders and staff by developing free resources and tailored services that meet current needs. Our most recent development is the creation of two new ‘coping with COVID-19’ essential engagement packages.


We’re here to help, so if you like the look of one of these options and want to learn more, or you need us to design it around your specific context or circumstances, get in touch.


Engaging genuinely and economically

2-HR ENGAGEMENT PLANNING WORKSHOPS

Looking to engage in a way that both meets the requirements of the new Local Government Act and considers budget constraints?

Engagement planning design workshops - engagement strategy

The new Local Government Act stipulates that every council must develop a community engagement policy in consultation with the community.  This policy must give effect to five principles and be applied in the development of six significant pieces of work:

  • planning and financial management

  • community vision

  • council plan

  • financial plan

  • revenue and rating planning

  • asset plan

Local government organisations are struggling with a new economic reality – they need to balance reduced income with increased need/demand for support and services.  It is likely they will need to work exceptionally hard now and into the future to help their communities to recover.

Getting it right requires time, resources, effort and, potentially, outside expertise.

Objectives and outcomes

Over two workshops, you will establish the key parameters around your engagement process (such as scope, success measures, key questions etc.) and set out clear expectations moving forward. 

A graphically designed, easy to read engagement plan will be prepared for you based on these outputs.  This document can be used as a public document as well as an internal guide/roadmap for engagement.


Engagement strategy sprint

1-HR FACILITATED DESIGN SPRINTS

How can we gather internal decision-making support?

Engagement design sprints - internal and decision maker support

Decision-makers are struggling with a range of key dilemmas in the COVID-19 environment and are trying to determine how their organisations should respond. 

 As cliché as it is starting to sound, we are experiencing an unprecedented event.   This means there’s no clear pathway on how to move forward.

 Engagement strategy sprints are designed for: 

  • organisations wanting clarity on how their community engagement should continue throughout COVID-19

  • decision-makers navigating the risks and opportunities for their organisation

  • engagement practitioners needing to garner support for priority engagement activities that need to occur over the next six months

  • project managers needing direction or looking to prioritise activities which require community input.

Objectives and outcomes

These sessions will allow you to:

  • identify current and future engagement risks

  • overview risk communication/engagement principles

  • prioritise strategies to overcome risks

  • ascertain immediate next steps to move engagement forward.

 


Want more information?

Download our online services information pack to find out more.

 


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