Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
JUMP ON BOARD! THE NEXT ENGAGEMENT ERA AWAITS

We’re feeling energised as we zoom through the first month of the new year. That’s because we can see what’s ahead, and we’re excited about the possibilities. Are you ready to set sail with us? We’re celebrating what’s been achieved in partnership with people just like you so far, while setting our sights on facilitating more important conversations in more places and having even more positive impact on more communities. We’re ready to embrace where engagement and deliberation are going, are you?

JUMP ON BOARD! THE NEXT ENGAGEMENT ERA AWAITS
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
THAT'S A WRAP 2023! GRATITUDE, HIGHLIGHTS & ...

A message of thanks to you - our clients, participants, partners and friends - and hope for what’s ahead. As we head towards the end of a big year of big conversations, our team shares what they’re grateful for, their biggest highlight of 2023 and what’s really lighting them up when they think forward to the new year ahead.

THAT'S A WRAP 2023! GRATITUDE, HIGHLIGHTS & HOPE FOR WHAT'S AHEAD
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
TEAM SPOTLIGHT: BELINDA AND FOX

Meet the newest additions to the MosaicLab team: Belinda Lowing and Fox Gillen. Both Belinda and Fox have long career histories that span across interesting and complex roles that have included facilitation and engagement in many forms. Learn more about these two and gain some insights into who they REALLY are through their answers to our fast five questions!

TEAM SPOTLIGHT: BELINDA AND FOX
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
TEAM SPOTLIGHT: JODY AND AARON

Ever wondered what makes our facilitators tick? Meet the newest additions to the MosaicLab team: Jody Kingston and Aaron Bosch. Both Aaron and Jody have fascinating, diverse backgrounds and have come to MosaicLab and facilitation via interesting pathways. Find out what they love about their work, what impact they hope to have and how they answered a list of fun and probing questions that we like to call The Telling Top 10... 

TEAM SPOTLIGHT: JODY AND AARON
Case studies
Nicole Hunter
CASE STUDY: TACKLING TOBACCO HARM IN PUBLIC ...

Four language interpreters. Child-minding. Recruitment challenges. Birthday cake and a lot of laughs. These are just some of the unique highlights of our work with Quit Victoria and VicHealth in 2022 on a project to reduce tobacco-related harm in public housing. This case study takes a detailed look at how MosaicLab supported this process with a residents’ panel and sense-making workshops. All to drive improved, long-term outcomes for community and public health.

CASE STUDY: TACKLING TOBACCO HARM IN PUBLIC HOUSING

BEHIND THE SCENES OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

BEHIND THE SCENES OF PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING

Thank you to the panellists and participants who joined us for a brief journey behind the scenes of Participatory Budgeting (PB) at the 2018 IAP2 Australasia Conference this week. Delegates took part in a mini PB process before engaging in conversation with the panel and exploring lessons learned from recent projects across Australia and the UK.

We’ve provided some free PB resources at the bottom of this post - these resources are available to both participants from the conference and anyone who couldn’t make it to the session.

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#MONTHLYMYTH: PREP THE PLAN FIRST

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#MONTHLYMYTH: PREP THE PLAN FIRST

Want to get the best possible value out of the consultant or facilitator you engage?  Hoping to minimise wasted time, money and resources?  Seeking to deliver an engagement process that’s as effective as possible?  Our tip: don’t develop a detailed engagement methodology before you appoint your consultant. 

This month’s myth explores the potential consequences of this all too common error and provides 4 steps to achieving the best possible return on your consultant investment and delivering an effective process.

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VIDEO: DELIBERATION JOURNEY - PARTICIPANTS' PERSPECTIVES

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VIDEO: DELIBERATION JOURNEY - PARTICIPANTS' PERSPECTIVES

This one has been a long time in the making.  Finally, we can announce that our latest 'Deliberation Ready' video is here.  This edition is particularly exciting because, for the first time, we've interviewed participants from across multiple deliberative processes. 

Together, these 10 citizens share their unique perspectives and provide candid, first hand reflections on their journey - the challenges, the surprises, the highlights and more. 

A YEAR IN REVIEW: MOSAICLAB PROJECTS

A YEAR IN REVIEW: MOSAICLAB PROJECTS

Where did the last financial year go?  Time flies by when you're busy, and it seems there's never a dull moment for the MosaicLab team.   

When we looked across a year of MosaicLab projects and collated the numbers, it was surprising to see just how many hours we had facilitated, people we had worked with and projects we had undertaken. 

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#MONTHLYMYTH: MORE IS MORE

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#MONTHLYMYTH: MORE IS MORE

Often, the purpose of an engagement process (or one phase of an engagement process) is to cast the net wide, capturing as many views and voices as possible.   Often, this is a good approach, particularly at the beginning of a longer engagement process.  What you generally don’t want to aim for, however, is the highest possible volume of feedback and data, with no regard for how useful or informed that input is.

Today we’re highlighting why you might get an overload of responses – many of which aren’t relevant to the issue at hand, why this is a problem, and how you can avoid it for your next process.

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#MONTHLYMYTH: EMCEES & FACILITATORS

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#MONTHLYMYTH: EMCEES & FACILITATORS

Sometimes, as facilitators, we find ourselves in awe of a skilled Master of Ceremonies (emcee).  Some emcees can really bring an event to life, confidently engaging the audience and seamlessly pull an occasion together with effortless flow and poise.  Where appropriate, the best MC’s will also inject humour and entertainment and make an event ‘sparkle’.

The reason we’re so impressed is that this isn’t our core skill set! Contrary to popular belief, these two roles aren't interchangeable.  To address this month's myth, we interviewed a professional emcee and professional facilitator, gaining first hand insights into these two unique worlds. 

BEHIND EVERY GOOD TEAM ...

BEHIND EVERY GOOD TEAM ...

MosaicLab is a small, busy, tight-knit team of facilitators and engagement practitioners.  We’re always dashing off to meet a client, run a session or plan a process.   Behind the scenes, however, are the unsung heroes of MosaicLab - the essential people that make us look good and keep the wheels turning. 

We are very proud to introduce our wonderful, global,  'behind-the-scenes' team of superstars! 

DILEMMA DISCUSSED: REPRESENTATIVE VIEWS

DILEMMA DISCUSSED: REPRESENTATIVE VIEWS

Today, with the help of a few guest experts, we’re responding to a subscriber participation dilemma.  It’s an issue that has been put forward by several subscribers to our e-newsletter the Discussion as their ‘biggest community engagement challenge’.

Today’s challenge is representative views: how to ensure you’re hearing from people that are proportional to and reflective of the wider community or stakeholders you’re trying to engage with. 

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#MONTHLYMYTH: FOCUSING ON THE FEW

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#MONTHLYMYTH: FOCUSING ON THE FEW

It’s important to consider and tailor your engagement approach to ensure you meet the needs of all stakeholders, and that includes those who have the most to say.  

This mistake, however , lies in forgetting about everyone else. Suddenly, you realise the needs and opinions of a few have demanded time, attention and resources at the expense of the rest of your stakeholders or community.

Today we’re addressing this myth by providing 9 ways to ensure diverse perspectives make it into your next process.