Conference Day One: Tuesday, 29 April 2008

8.20 Registration And Coffee

8.50 Welcome To Conference

9.00 Welcoming Remarks From The Chair

Amanda Newbery
Marketing Director, BBS and Marketing Director
IAP2

9.10 Practising Meaningful Community Engagement In Policy Development And Implementation

This session will explore the concept of meaningful community engagement in the development and implementation of policy in general. It will look at current practices today, emerging trends and way forward.

Defining meaningful engagement
Influencing change in behaviour
Engagement at the three different government levels

Desley Renton
President
International Association Of Public Participation (IAP2) AUSTRALASIA Accessing The Right Community Members at the Right Time

9.50 Identifying Your Stakeholders To Ensure That Their Needs Are Met

Accessing the right community members is important for collecting data when researching and engaging in dialogue for negotiating outcomes. It is important to have the right people at the table providing input for the community. When it comes to getting the right people, practitioners have to consider the following:

Long term vs. short term solutions
Direct impact vs. none
When to engage and when not to
Understanding your community – do they want to talk to you/are they interested?
Creating a mechanism for stakeholders to talk in a common language

Dr Bro Sheffield-Brotherton
Chairman
SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS PTY LTD

10.30 Morning Tea

11.00 Gaining Access To The Right Community Members

This session will look at not only ensuring that you are accessing the right community members for the short-term, but also for the long-term results. While sometimes it can appear easier to access the most vocal or time rich community members, you will most likely fail to ensure that those directly affected are involved. This session will explore the options for accessing the right community members.

Heather Shaw
NW Project Manager for Community Engagement, DEPARTMENT FOR SUSTAINABILITY & ENVIRONMENT
VIC

11.40 Understanding Different Models of Community Engagement Learn from the expertise of the Community Engagement Department at Griffith University about the tools that are available for engaging with the community and when they are best used.

Determining the positive and negative implications of using the different models
Managing expectations of stakeholders from both sides for real outcomes

Professor Max Standage
Pro Vice Chancellor Community Partnerships
GRIFFITHS UNIVERSITY

12.20 Utilising The Right Model At The Right Time For Effective Policy Development And Implementation

In order to get the best results you need to apply different forms of engagement to different projects and at different stages within the project. This session will give you insights into the types of engagement from polling and community forums to workshops.

Determining why you want to engage
Determining when to engage and when not to engage
Managing expectations to ensure realistic outcomes
Understanding the positive and negative implications of different engagement models

Fiona Barbagallo
Manager, Science Partnerships and Engagement
QUEENSLAND STATE DEPARTMENT

1.00 Lunch

Developing strong partnerships with Community stakeholders

2.00 Building Trust With The Community To Strengthen Relationships

This session will look at the need to deliberate during the consultation process in policy development and implementation which takes time. Information needs to be open book and all points of view taken into consideration for way forward. This will build trust and create lasting partnerships between stakeholders.

Establishing a common language for clear communication and understanding
Flexibility in consultation
Providing feedback to the community on consultation
Supporting practitioners in the consultation process

Sharon Barnes
Assistant Director, DEPT OF FAMILIES
COMMUNITIES AND INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS (FaCSIA)

2.40 Maintaining Relationships After Key People Change

When people that have been involved in initiatives or negotiations leave it creates a gap. It then becomes a real challenge to maintain existing relationships, especially if they have left because nothing happened after negotiating agreements.

Learn about:

Working on an equal footing
Building credibility by sharing resources
Displaying flexibility to meet the needs of the community

Michael Mundine
CEO, ABORIGINAL HOUSING COMPANY
NSW

3.20 Afternoon Tea

3.20 Flexibility And Feedback – Keys To Successful Engagement

Current practice is that policy is usually developed and then sent to communities for consultation with very little time for feedback. This session will highlight the benefits of being flexible and taking the time to provide feedback and show you how the Community Engagement Team at Victoria University is doing it successfully.

Professor Peter Creamer
Pro Vice Chancellor, OFFICE OF INDUSTRY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY

Elleni Bereded-Samuel
Community Co-ordinator, OFFICE OF INDUSTRY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY