When 10 councils give real influence to their communities, we see real change, real impact and trusted decisions that increase faith in democratic processes.
“This has been one of the most amazing experiences of my adult life. I genuinely feel honoured and privileged to be involved and I’d even say my faith in democracy has been restored.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire
This case study explores 11 deliberative engagement journeys and the profound impact they have had on councils, communities decision makers and participants.
These processes have directly shaped the future of 10 municipalities which, collectively, are home to 21% of the Victorian community.
Excitingly, these processes resulted in major shifts for participants on a range of measures, including perceptions of democracy and trust in local government. This data speaks to the value and power of deliberative democracy.
Local government engagement is entering a new era. We’re honoured to have supported these councils as they work to implement the new Local Government Act, transform the way decisions are made and ‘bring democracy alive’.
SNAPSHOT: 11 DELIBERATIVE ENGAGEMENT JOURNEYS
Process: 11 deliberative engagement processes
MosaicLab’s role: design and delivery of the community panel processes
Host organisations: 10 Victorian councils. Collectively servicing 21% of the Victorian population
Timeframe: 2020 – 2021
Format: seven online processes, four hybrid process (a mix of online and face-to-face sessions)
Recruitment: panellists were selected by independent recruitment specialists using random, stratified selection processes
Participants: 348 randomly selected citizens from diverse backgrounds
Outputs: 9 community visions, 50 principles, 29 objectives, 118 recommendations
PROCESS OVERVIEW
Over the past 18 months, MosaicLab supported 10 councils to elevate their engagement practice and meet the requirements of the new Local Government Act 2020. The Act in itself is ground-breaking - the first legislative requirement to deliver deliberative engagement in Australia.
Each community panel was made up of randomly selected, representative groups of everyday people from diverse backgrounds. The panels either developed a community vision and/or wrote a report that would be used to shape the future and develop key council plans.
These processes offered communities a high level of influence. The panels’ work will have direct impact over the strategic direction of the councils involved.
Almost all processes reached at least the ‘collaborate’ level of engagement. All visions, and most of the recommendations made, have been accepted in full, without change. This brings many of these processes up to ‘empower’.
““Invest in deliberative engagement because the results are just so powerful. You end up working in partnership with your community to deliver the things that are really important to them and there’s nothing more powerful than that.” ”
City of Kingston
“The big change I noticed was particularly among the people on our panel. We now have 32 amazing advocates in our community. 32 people who have seen their trust and interest in local government and civic commitment improve.””
Strategy and Performance
City of Stonnington
PARTICIPANT EXPERIENCE & CHANGE
MosaicLab surveyed participants before and after each process. The results are inspiring. They show that these deliberative processes:
significantly increased trust in democratic institutions
built supported decisions
encouraged involvement in civic affairs
offered everyday people real influence over the issues that affect them.
These findings are consistent with widely-held beliefs around the positive impact of deliberative engagement. They serve to strengthen and add to this body of anecdotal evidence and quantify the value of deliberative processes.
Following the process, participants said they were more likely to be involved in civic affairs in future, more confident their recommendations would be implemented and viewed their council as more trustworthy and accountable.
“To be involved with this process and have my faith in democracy reinstated has been revolutionary.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire
“I’ve been heard in this vision statement – so many of my words and thoughts are in there. At the end – to see the end of that – how we all got together, different cultures, religions, ages – has been really special.”
Glen Eira City Council
“What an amazing opportunity to try and have an impact for the people and the land on which we live. ”
City of Kingston
“It really celebrated not our differences are as a community, but our similarities.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire
“It’s been an eye-opening experience watching a group of people from all walks of life, who don’t know each other, come together and create this really cool piece of work. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of that.”
Greater Shepparton City Council
To explore the full results of this research, read our report: Deliberation and Democratic Trust Report: Measuring participant change across 10 Victorian councils
OUTCOMES
Outputs from each process will directly influence strategic planning, and will help to shape the future of each municipality.
Collectively, the community panels produced:
10 community visions
50 principles
29 objectives
118 recommendations.
The visions created by the panellists tell a story of shared experiences and aspirations across Victoria, including a desire to see innovation, sustainability, diversity and inclusivity.
PANEL RECRUITMENT
Panellists across all processes were selected by an independent recruitment specialist using a random, stratified selection process. Each recruitment process was designed to achieve a panel that included a broad cross-section of participants from diverse backgrounds and was descriptively representative of the wider community being represented.
“There was real diversity in the group…. (however) they realised that they weren’t that different. They were united in their aspiration for what they wanted their community to be.”
City of Stonnington
“Investment in a deliberative process will give you confidence in decision making and help you solve your hardest problems.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR DELIBERATIVE ENGAGEMENT?
Last week, councillors, mayors, project managers and industry representatives came together to showcase and celebrate these impactful, deliberative engagement journeys. The ‘Deliberation Celebration’ event also explored what’s next for deliberation in the local government sector.
Stay tuned as we share insights, reflections and free resources from this event!
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES
Our website is crammed with free stuff, many of which speak to deliberative engagement practice. This includes free guide to deliberation for Victorian Councils, which details what local government needs to know about deliberation as they work to implement the new provisions in the Local Government Act.
For more, head over to our free downloads section or check out our suite of videos.
Congratulations to all the councils and participants for helping to bring democracy alive. MosaicLab believes in the power of deliberative engagement done right. It was our privilege to work with these councils and their communities.
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