STAKEHOLDER & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FORUMS
Reaching out to test community opinion is critical.
Leaders need the insights of their biggest stakeholders.
But with new ways of working now common and everyone time poor, traditional approaches to engagement aren't always possible.
Our professionally facilitated engagement forums solve that.
Fresh, lively, interactive - you'll wonder why you didn't try it earlier.
STAKEHOLDER & COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT FORUMS
Test stakeholder views and get rapid feedback
​​
-
Engaging, interactive, fun process
-
Deliberative engagement approach
-
Bring together groups from 5 to 50
-
Thorough preparation process
-
Live forums facilitated by expert team
-
Brainstorm ideas, explore options, refine detail
-
Visually stimulating, beautifully branded collaboration spaces
-
Iterative design process to extract rich feedback
HOW OUR STAKEHOLDER & COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT FORUMS WORK
Using deliberative engagement principles to reach out to your community
​
It's never been more important to involve the community in your decision-making - whether that's local business owners, leaders of community groups, customers, residents, donors or voters.
​
For many organisations, the traditional methods of community engagement have involved e-mail questionnaires, feedback forms, town hall meetings, and in-person drop-in sessions. In these busy times of low attention spans, reduced travel, and fewer crowded gatherings, those old ways are not practical.
​
We've found a new way. Using a careful process of co-design, our expert facilitation team runs lively, interactive, collaborative engagement forums - either face to face, online, or both - all inspired by the principles of deliberative engagement.
Our stimulating and highly visual way of working leads to strongly engaged participant groups, who grapple with new ideas, evaluate plans, prioritise options, and give honest, rapid feedback in a comfortable conversation space.
​
Should we use face to face or online engagement?
​
Nothing beats the warmth and authenticity of a face to face gathering. We usually prefer it, and most of our clients too. However, you might need to consider online engagement if some of these common occurrences are familiar to your organisation:
​
-
When the voices you need to hear are dispersed and travel is not possible
-
When a deadline is fast approaching and you need something rapid and immediate
-
When key players are social distancing, working from home, or locked down
-
When your budget does not allow a full-scale, in-person consultation forum
​
Can a mix of in-person and online forums be used?
​
Yes. Our principles of deliberative engagement work equally as well in-person or in online forums. If you'd like a mix of sessions - or even a hybrid session - we're happy to work with you to craft something brilliant.
​
Who uses our Stakeholder & Community Engagement Forums?
​
We work with a wide range of clients, with examples including:
-
Local councils needing community involvement in local plans
-
Public sector authorities seeking feedback on new proposals
-
Corporate organisations wanting to test customer opinion
​
​
WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE?
​
Based on the principles of deliberative engagement, we co-design an immersive and reflective experience
PRE-BRIEF
Curated materials - videos, plans, fact sheets - are sent to participants to put consultation forums in context
BRAINSTORM
Highly engaging facilitated collaborative forums are held to spark ideas and get rapid feedback
SURVEYS
Follow-up surveys gather the best insights that emerge after the initial collaboration forums
TEST & REFINE
Collated concepts are presented back to participants for testing, refinement and prioritisation
FACE TO FACE - OR ONLINE?
Face to face forums have warmth and authenticity. Bringing people together online can be safer and more time efficient. How do you decide which is the best way to go?
CASE STUDY
BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT FORUM
​
The pandemic has hit small business hard.
​
The road to recovery has many options, and one local council wanted to hear directly from business how council could work with them to help the community thrive post-COVID.
​
After a careful design process, Melbourne Leadership Group ran a series of business engagement forums, bringing together 30 local business owners.
In a lively, interactive process, dozens of ideas were generated, explored, and prioritised in a series of facilitated discussions. The debate was strong!
​
After collating the insights which emerged from the forums, a report to council was prepared for discussion at a subsequent council meeting.
How to start planning your stakeholder or community engagement forum
​
Ready to explore how an engagement forum would work for your organisation?
Simply reach out to us with a short message - or, if you're ready to have a quick conversation about your needs, you can book in a convenient time for a free, 15 minute phone call to explore how online community consultation forums can work for you.
