Across Australia we see collaborative initiatives struggling to meaningfully mobilise and engage
community. We observe some ‘collaborations’ that are unable or unwilling to move beyond
informing or consulting, and where community engagement does happen, it is time-limited—run as
a project as opposed to a way of working.
Our interpretation of these practices is that they face two challenges:
- the adaptive challenge—collaborations and institutions are fearful of sharing power with
community - the technical challenge—collaborations and institutions lack easy to use tools that create
engagement for population level change. (NB: There are lots of easy to use community
engagement tools for project/program level change.
This day long workshop will be highly interactive and laden with tools and case studies. The format
will be a mix of content presentations, unpacking case studies, applying tools, small group work,
individual reflection and planning, and peer support.
