SNAPSHOT
Process: Community Panel (short form deliberative panel)
MosaicLab’s role: Design and facilitation
Client: Baw Baw Shire Council
Timeframe: July - August 2020 (evening introductory session plus two full days)
Participants: 30 selected with the aim of having 25 on the panel; 23 attended
Remit (the challenge)
Warragul is expanding and Baw Baw Shire Council is undertaking a thorough review of car parking in Warragul:
How can we make the most of our current parking and plan for future parking needs?
OVERVIEW
The output from the panel will form the basis of a Council decision about a range of parking matters such as parking restrictions, the need for a new multi-storey car park and parking overlays. This has been a highly contentious issue for a number of years and the Council has struggled to resolve it.
This short-form deliberative process involved:
a cross-section of residents from Baw Baw stratified based on census data for age range, location and gender
access to a range of information including a Council background report, findings from a wider engagement process and a set of six curated speakers, including two Council representatives and four external speakers
participants wrote and developed their own report with a Google Doc
a super majority (80% or more panel support) was needed for a recommendation to be included in the final report
a report detailing seven supported options with conditions, presented to Baw Baw Shire Council at the end of the panel’s deliberations.
technology CHALLENGES
Technology used for the sessions included:
Zoom meeting platform
Loomio for online discussions and ‘library’
SurveyMonkey for between-session ratings of ideas
Menti for quick polling
Google Docs for recording ideas and writing the report.
To assist panel members, we provided:
Laptops - three panel members did not have their own computers with a camera and a microphone. Laptops were hired and lent to these participants for the duration of the panel (3 weeks).
Pre-workshop support - technical assistance sessions were held with panel members that need assistance to be orientated into their computers, Zoom and Google Docs.
On-the-day support - an extra facilitator was present for the first hour of the panel days to solve any technical issues. In addition to the two lead facilitators, our team included a third support/technical facilitator who was available during all sessions.
participants’ experiences
The panel members’ experiences
Some of the feedback from the panel members included:
[The facilitators] were able to make all parts of the sessions very collaborative and I felt my contribution was worthwhile and appreciated.
Like many, I have attended workshops, meetings, and other events where we are sent off to rooms with a number of questions, a sheaf of “butchers’ paper” and a texta and told to explore a topic. Often the result was, well, let’s say - not much, and the process seemed to end there with the notes disappearing to who knows where and nothing ever happening. This process/program ensured a result and I felt that everyone left satisfied.
Being placed randomly into small groups for discussion allowed many different conversations covering diverse viewpoints during the course of the panel and felt different from being in a room together.
The process felt cutting edge in how it was facilitated. There were so many different opinions and emotions to manage, but the facilitators made the whole process seamless and flawless, and we achieved the outcome.
It allowed us to feel valued and really connected to the Council.
“The process felt cutting edge in how it was facilitated. ”
The facilitation team’s experience
Quality of Deliberation
The quality of deliberation is another open question in terms of comparing face to face and online deliberation. The facilitation team noticed that parking was clearly important for this town, with the panel really processing information and considering the topic clearly. Some members had a strong sentiment coming in, but it shifted early, particularly after the speaker conversations.
Random Placement in Breakout Rooms
The value of being randomly placed in breakout rooms on Zoom was noted by a participant. While we are constantly mixing people in a face to face panels, using Zoom makes this a more rigorous process.
Length of Sessions
In our previous Bayside panel that was started face to face and completed online, we held three-hour sessions over five weekends.
In this online panel we moved to full days and found it more satisfying in terms of the amount of work that could be completed in one day, and the process not feeling endless. Significant breaks were provided during the full days.
Technology
Technology support before the process began, and at the start of each session was important.
Building relationships
Relationship building is a key factor in people being able to work together, collaborate and reach common ground to create recommendations. It is one of the factors that people consider hard to replicate online. Our experience in this case was that the connections started early and built quickly. We encouraged connections through:
An introductory Meet and Greet evening - panel members met each other in a ‘speed dating’ process, where they were rotated around breakout rooms to meet others
Members were encouraged to come online 30 minutes early on the two sitting days for coffee catch ups that were held in small groups in breakout rooms
Constant mixed small group work
The group was relatively small at 23 members, which made it easier for people to create connections with others in the group
Some members - evidenced in the vox pops films at the end of day one – felt very privileged to be invited to participate and approached the work seriously.
Overall, the facilitation team felt this process met the core elements of a deliberation.
Want more info on our ‘coping with COVID-19’ essential engagement packages and other online engagement services?
Download our services information pack below.
ENJOYED THIS POST?
Stay in the know! Get new posts, actionable ideas and fabulous free resources delivered to your inbox - subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter 'the Discussion'.