Ideas for ticking things off during Caretaker Period
So it’s mid-September and the Election Period has commenced. The frantic pace of council may slow down a little during council Caretaker Period (we recognise this is certainly not the experience for everyone though).
Keeping the relationship spicy (in a good way)
I was having an honest conversation with a friend of mine who had been tapped on the shoulder and encouraged to nominate and run as a local Councillor in her local area. She works for Council and would need to take a leave of absence from her employment to do so, and was of course weighing up the pros and cons.
Navigating the Misinformation Maze: Engaging Communities Amid Disinformation Challenges
The spread of misinformation and disinformation is a major factor in our social and political landscape today. This has affected our ability to communicate and work together on some of the big issues we face; supporting public health, addressing climate change, maintaining a stable democracy, ensuring rights and responsibilities.
Preparing your next Domestic Animal Management Plan
Conversation Co is experienced in supporting councils to develop their DAMPs — whether it is engaging with the community stakeholders, workshopping the objectives and actions with your internal teams, or writing the DAMP.
Harnessing AI in Marketing: Tools, Benefits and Safe Practices for a Smarter Workflow
AI is not just a buzzword; its involvement is growing in every aspect and field, especially in the realm of marketing. While there are still many grey areas regarding policy and privacy in using AI, using the right tools in the right ways can make our work (and life) much easier.
Thinking about Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week from May 27th-3rd June is a time for all people, from the different cultures that call Australia home, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike to reflect on our shared history and work towards a unified and equitable future together.
How to Maximise the Community’s Involvement & Interest in your Project
We know community engagement is necessary in delivering projects and council initiatives that matter to the community. Apart from the usual methods of engagement (e.g. developing an engagement and communications plan for the project period, coordinating pop-ups), how else can we maximise the community’s interest and involvement in a project?
Community Feedback in Action: Council Case Studies
So we talked to your community — what actually happened after that? We work on a wide range of projects, with the engagement phase scheduled at the start, middle, and/or end of each project. Some projects involve decision-making very much in the public domain, whilst others can be ‘quiet’ engagement exercises.
Why B Corp with Cindy Plowman
Conversation Co has just been awarded global certification and inducted into B Corp as an organisation that exists to do good things, while also being a force for good. Director, Cindy Plowman shares her reasons behind certification, learnings along the way and advice to others interested.
Facilitation Microskills Guide
It’s important to understand that facilitation is not only about the others in the room, it starts with you. The key to a productive session is ensuring that you are performing at your best and taking the steps necessary to get you into that optimal state.
Practice Guide: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a MPHWP
Evaluation is a crucial element of all strategic planning. As we come to a new planning cycle of Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plans (MPHWP), we encourage you to take the time to evaluate and reflect on your current MPHWP.
New to Local Government: Sector Guidance Planning & Reporting
2024 and 2025 will be busy years for all Victorian councils. A number of key strategic plans will be prepared and there will be council elections in October 2024. The Local Government Act 2020 requires councils to prepare a long-term Community Vision, a four-year Council Plan, a ten-year Financial Plan and a ten-year Asset Plan, after every four-year election cycle. Community engagement is mandatory or highly recommended for all these plans.
Benefits & Risks of Including a MPHWP within a Council Plan
Through the Public Health and Wellbeing Act (2008) all councils are required to prepare a Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan (MPHWP) every four years, within 12 months of a council election. With council elections occurring in October 2024, now is the time to consider how to meet the requirements of the Act.
Voter Fatigue on Community Engagement
Voter fatigue refers to the apathy felt towards voting by people who live in a country /state that functions as a democracy. It is generally known to be caused by having to vote in multiple elections in a short period of time – in the Australian context this could refer to the federal, state, local elections, as well as a referendum. It is important to acknowledge the impact this may have on other smaller scale forms of community engagement and how we keep community members informed and address barriers that prevent people from experiencing engagement fatigue.
Navigating the Communications Landscape & Social Media Trends in 2024
For community engagement organisations and businesses, social media remains an essential tool for fostering community engagement and building brand awareness. Here are some predictions for social media in 2024.
Cost of Living on Community Engagement
In a post-pandemic world, we’re all trying to “get back to normal” but as the 2023 year closes, this normal world is a turbulent one. Many of us in Australia are focused on our own finances and affordability of key purchases in the future. What is influencing everyday Australians?
Reflections on The Voice Referendum 2023
In light of the recent referendum results, it is important to unpack influencing factors that led to the defeat of the proposal for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. There needed to be a majority nationally as well in four of the six states. The ACT was the only territory that had a majority of Yes votes, with every other state and territory voting against the Voice. Despite polls leading up to the referendum anticipating a loss, there was shock as to how far we swung to ‘No’ as a nation (60.52% nationally). The technological and political landscape’s influence on the large-scale engagement process are necessary considerations as we reflect on what has happened and where we go from here.
How We Analyse our Marketing & Communications Efforts
At Conversation Co, we are big analysers of our work. Analysing is as important as the planning and execution process because it can tell us a lot. For example, whether our work is getting to the right audience, the level of impact, what worked well or needs to be improved on, and the trends and predictions that we can tap into.
How We Scale Up/Down Depending on the Client’s Needs
We can support you through the whole process or you can ‘pick and mix’ specialised support for key moments depending on your project needs.
Data Collection Framework 101
The data collection framework is a spreadsheet used to record each individual response or answer you receive from the community during engagement activities. What goes into the framework?