Shire pledges “transparent, genuine, relevant” community engagement

THE Surf Coast Shire says it is starting from the principles of being “transparent, genuine, relevant and accessible” as it explains what it is doing to the community over the next three years.

Councillors endorsed the Communications and Community Engagement Strategy 2022-25 at their meeting last week.

The strategy was shaped by two phases of community consultation, including surveys, an opportunity to provide open feedback, focus group meetings with Traditional Owners, advisory committees, young people and members of the shire’s People Place Future community panel, and councillor and staff workshops.

Its six strategic directions focus on:

• Working with First Nations people
• Improving accessibility and inclusion and representation of diverse views, and reducing barriers to participation
• Building relationships and trust working together with community and stakeholders, sharing information, creating opportunities and improving understanding
• Pursuing more opportunities for community and stakeholder input into the shire’s decision-making processes
• Growing shire-wide understanding of the role and importance of good engagement and communications, and
• Innovation and use of technology, exploring additional digital communication options and investigating development of a council-specific app.

The strategy also makes six commitments:

• We will give people enough time to provide feedback
• We will communicate across multiple channels to ensure broad reach
• We will provide regular updates on our projects and services
• We will explain the reasons for our decisions
• We will ensure that everyone’s view is considered fairly, and
• We will be innovative where doing so improves understanding, participation or deliberation.

For a summary of community feedback and a copy of the 2022-25 strategy, head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au/ccestrategy