Integrated Planning and Reporting Manual - Division of Local ...

2. THE COMMUNITY STRATEGIC PLAN
Ultimately, councils should aim to achieve the ‘collaboration’ level where the community is involved
in the ongoing delivery and monitoring of the Community Strategic Plan. This could be achieved by
establishing consultative committees, or a special community taskforce, to have ongoing input into
the process.
Over the years, many councils have become disenchanted with consultation attempts because “noone
shows up to the meetings or responds to the public exhibition”. Moving from consultation to
engagement requires a different approach and the need for more innovation in planning public
participation.
For example, people may not be willing to come to a public meeting on a week night, but they might
be happy to share their views at a shopping centre display on community issues, or contribute to a
blog on a council website. Residents might not read the council information sheet that comes with
their rates, but they might listen to a local radio program on community planning issues, or read a
story in their local paper.
There is a wide range of resources available to help councils plan community engagement activities
and develop their engagement strategies. A list of useful resources is included on the Integrated
Planning and Reporting webpage at www.dlg.nsw.gov.au.
Preparing for public participation
One of the first stages of the Community Strategic Planning process is to prepare a Community
Engagement Strategy. The Strategy should allow for public participation at various stages of the
planning process and identify key stakeholder groups.
Some councils already have a general Public Participation or Consultation Strategy that covers all
their activities. The Community Strategic Plan Engagement Strategy may be included in this
document if the council wishes.
When preparing the Strategy, it is important to consider groups whose voice may not normally be
heard in community discussions. This might include people with disabilities, Aboriginal communities,
people from culturally or linguistically diverse backgrounds, young people, people in geographically
isolated areas, single parents, and the elderly. Council is required to base the Community
Engagement Strategy on social justice principles and this extends to the community engagement
process.
As well as facilitating the participation of specific target groups in the planning process, councils
may also find it useful to host some community planning forums which encourage crossgenerational
discussion and debate. Such forums provide an opportunity for people in one group of
the community to hear first hand what some of the key issues are for another group in the
community. This encourages a shared understanding of the issues, and promotes dicussion about
priorities and resource allocation that councils may find helpful in the planning process.
Planning & Reporting Manual Page 38 of 115