The importance of Advisory Committees
One of the most valuable parts of community engagement is hearing from people who experience their local community every day. Members of advisory committees bring this lived experience into engagement processes, offering grounded perspectives on how services, events and spaces are experienced in practice. Their insights help move conversations beyond policy language and into the realities of everyday life, ensuring projects remain connected to what matters most to the community.
Through our work with advisory committees, we have seen how their contributions can enrich projects in meaningful ways. They are able to speak to the practical impacts of Council services, highlight emerging needs and identify opportunities that may not always be visible through traditional data sources alone. Their feedback often reflects both personal experience and the experiences of others in their networks, helping build a more nuanced understanding of community priorities.
These members can also play an important role in strengthening engagement reach. With trusted relationships across diverse community networks, they are often able to share information about projects and encourage participation from people who may not typically engage with Council. In many cases, they act as an important bridge between formal engagement processes and the broader community.
So what can we learn from this? When working with advisory committees, there are several practical steps that can help ensure their knowledge and networks are meaningfully included in engagement processes:
Engage early and often. Involve them at the beginning of projects to help shape engagement approaches, not just to review outcomes at the end. Advisory committees are a great way to test drive and refine an engagement approach. They can also be consulted about the monitoring of an engagement program to tweak approaches and fill gaps throughout the engagement.
Create accessible and welcoming participation opportunities. Provide materials in multiple formats, offer different ways to contribute and ensure meeting environments are inclusive and comfortable.
Recognise and value lived experience. Advisory committee members bring insights that complement data and technical expertise, helping projects better reflect community realities.
Acknowledge people’s time and expertise. Small gestures such as providing tea and coffee, lunch or afternoon tea can help create a welcoming environment and recognise the value of participants’ contributions.
Leverage community connections. Support members to share information about projects through their networks to reach people who may not typically engage with Council.
Close the loop. Advisory committees have an ongoing relationship with Council and are the champions for the broader communities they represent. It is important to test draft plans and review engagement findings alongside showing how their input has influenced decisions and outcomes.
When advisory committees are actively involved and supported, their insights can lead to richer conversations, broader participation and outcomes that more accurately reflect the communities they serve.
