MosaicLab and Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation co-designed a Code of Conduct training that brought values to life. Over a day and a half, staff explored ethics and workplace behaviour through real-life scenarios, cultural storytelling, and hands-on activities - then shaped the Code in their own words, images, and symbols. The process built clarity, connection, and confidence - and ensured the team has a Code that’s lived, not just learned.
We don’t just facilitate conversations - we design them with purpose, strategy, and care. In under three minutes, our new video lifts the lid on what really happens behind the scenes at MosaicLab. It’s not just about what we do, but how and why we do it - and what makes our work different. Come take a look - this time, we’re the story.
Have a challenging issue to tackle but lack the resources for meaningful engagement? ML Giving is MosaicLab’s not-for-profit division and we’re here to help. We support emerging and under-served communities in fostering deeper conversations that drive real change. We believe everyone deserves a voice in shaping their communities. Learn how you can apply to work with us.
How do you bring stakeholders from across Australia together to shift how spiritual health is embedded in our healthcare system? MosaicLab partnered with the Spiritual Health Association to design and facilitate an engagement process that helped shape the country’s first National Model for Spiritual Care in Health. The model was piloted in 21 hospitals and health services, including a national health service. After the pilot, sites conducted audits to assess its impact on spiritual care, staff awareness, and patient experiences. The results were published in an evaluation report released in late 2024, offering key insights from this national initiative.
The City of Melbourne views affordable housing as crucial infrastructure for maintaining a liveable, inclusive, and prosperous city. With a projected shortfall of 23,200 affordable homes by 2036, immediate action is needed to address this long-standing issue. While there is broad community support for affordable housing, acceptance often wanes at the neighbourhood level. To tackle this, a People’s Panel of 39 diverse community members was established to represent local perspectives.
As Victorian local councils face a local government election on October 24th and the induction of a new Council they are also implementing a new Local Government Act. Amongst the myriad of changes in the 2020 Act are new provisions for community engagement. This is a major step change in seeking to put communities at the centre of local government decision making.
Many councils would be wondering what they need to do meet these requirements, particularly the one about deliberative practices.
Our new world of online conversations can raise challenges. Every meeting no matter how small or informal needs a lead person, whether that is a chairperson, a facilitator or simply the person who initiated the meeting.
There are many meetings for which a member of the group can take up this role. But when is it wise to appoint an external, independent facilitator? This post explores the five reasons you should give this role to a skilled facilitator.
MosaicLab is excited to be offering two new training courses - Virtual Facilitation and Technical Skills (for anyone that is currently hosting, or learning to host, online meetings and workshops) and Deliberative Engagement for Victorian Councils (for council staff, executives and councillors who have a role in relation to the deliberative engagement requirements of the new Local Government Act).
Find out more here.
We often hear councillors and staff saying they don’t need to involve the community in deliberation as it is the role of councillors, or any elected official, to deliberate on an issue and make decisions. It is important to note that deliberative engagement does not supersede or dismiss the role of councillors in making decisions.
In this #MonthlyMyth, we discuss the five main ways that deliberation can help decision-makers and add value, rather than take away their decision-making powers.
Online engagement is here to stay. How do we get the best out of both online and face to face engagement in the future? Responding to popular demand, we will be tackling this engagement dilemma during session six in our ‘continuous connections - engagement in the time of COVID-19’ webinar discussion series.
Register now to learn new skills and connect with engagement professionals around Australia and beyond. Be quick - places are limited.
While it feels like the world has been somewhat on hold this year with COVID-19, MosaicLab has been busy growing.
We are thrilled to have welcomed three new members to our team. Each brings with them years of experience in participation, engagement and deliberation, as well as the enthusiasm and shared values that we view as essential to being a part of MosaicLab.
Read on to find out more about our newest team members.
The Bayside 2050 Community Vision Panel came together to hold the first of its three full days of deliberations immediately before social isolation came into force in response to COVID-19. The rest of the deliberations were subsequently completed online.
This post explains how MosaicLab moved the panel online and our learnings from the experience.
The OECD has just released a global analysis of deliberation called Innovative Citizens Participation and New Democratic Institutions – Catching the Deliberative Wave. MosaicLab along with many other deliberative practitioners around the world contributed to this significant piece of work by providing our list of over 25 deliberations that we have facilitated in Australia. Thirteen of these deliberations were included in this OECD database.
In recent months, we delivered a series of internal engagement programs for Monash City Council, Greater Shepparton City Council and Melton City Council to help build the momentum for engagement internally. Councils have been working on Community Engagement Policies, Council Plans, Frameworks and capacity building programs and have seen the value of engaging a diverse range of staff in this work.
In this blog, some of our council colleagues and facilitators provide their learnings from the internal engagement processes.
