Agenda of Economic Development & Communications Committee Meeting

Agenda (Open Portion)

Economic Development & Communications Committee Meeting

Page 4

20/9/2018

Economic Development & Communications Committee Meeting (Open Portion) held Thursday, 20 September 2018 at 5:00 pm in the Lady Osborne Room, Town Hall.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Cocker (Chairman)

Zucco

Ruzicka

Thomas

Denison

ALDERMEN

Lord Mayor Christie

Deputy Lord Mayor Sexton

Briscoe

Burnet

Reynolds

Harvey

Apologies: Nil

Leave of Absence: Nil

1. Co-Option of a Committee Member in the event of a vacancy

2. Confirmation of Minutes

The minutes of the Open Portion of the Economic Development & Communications Committee meeting held on Thursday, 26 July 2018, are submitted for confirming as an accurate record.

3. Consideration of Supplementary Items

Ref: Part 2, Regulation 8(6) of the Local Government (Meeting Procedures) Regulations 2015.

Recommendation

That the Committee resolve to deal with any supplementary items not appearing on the agenda, as reported by the General Manager.

4. Indications of Pecuniary and Conflicts of Interest

Ref: Part 2, Regulation 8(7) of the Local Government (Meeting Procedures) Regulations 2015.

Aldermen are requested to indicate where they may have any pecuniary or conflict of interest in respect to any matter appearing on the agenda, or any supplementary item to the agenda, which the committee has resolved to deal with.

5. Transfer of Agenda Items

Regulation 15 of the Local Government (Meeting Procedures) Regulations 2015.

A committee may close a part of a meeting to the public where a matter to be discussed falls within 15(2) of the above regulations.

In the event that the committee transfer an item to the closed portion, the reasons for doing so should be stated.

Are there any items which should be transferred from this agenda to the closed portion of the agenda, or from the closed to the open portion of the agenda?

Item No. 6.1

Agenda (Open Portion)

Economic Development & Communications Committee Meeting

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20/9/2018

REPORT TITLE: Community Engagement Framework

REPORT PROVIDED BY: Community Engagement Advisor

Acting Associate Director Community and Culture

1. Report Purpose and Community Benefit

1.1. The purpose of this report is to present the Council with findings from our consultation on the draft Community Engagement Framework and seek endorsement of the final document.

1.2. The final framework will serve as the Council’s guide to deliver a consistent and best practice approach to community engagement for the Council in line with the International Association for Public Participation Australasia (IAP2) guidelines for engagement.

1.3. The community will benefit from the City’s investment in greater resources in the community engagement team and having a framework that provides a shared language of how and who the City engages on its projects and services.

2. Report Summary

2.1. The draft Community Engagement Framework was open for feedback from 16 July 2018 to 31 August 2018.

2.1.1. The draft was provided on Your Say Hobart, and community members could comment as an individual and/or as a representative of an organisation. They could also comment via email or written submission (eg. in PDF format, or by mail).

2.1.2. The opportunity to read the draft and comment was promoted on Facebook, via email to Your Say Hobart registrants, the Council of Hobart Community Associations, all Hobart community associations, via the Community and Culture Division networks and internally to all staff.

2.1.3. A series of internal information sessions about the draft were held with all City of Hobart project managers and at Divisional and unit manager meetings.

2.1.4. Information sessions were held with the City of Hobart Youth Action Squad and the Hobart Older Persons’ Reference Group. At these sessions there was an opportunity to ask questions about the framework and provide feedback.

2.2. The draft framework document was subsequently updated to respond to engagement findings. The final framework document is provided as Attachment A to this report.

Feedback

2.3. Feedback on the draft framework was received in the following ways:

· Your Say Hobart - 14 responses to the short survey, 54 people visited the draft Community Engagement Framework page

· Feedback via email from the Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT) and Bang the Table (owners of the Your Say website).

2.4. Although the overall number of responses was relatively low, the feedback demonstrated strong support for the draft Community Engagement Framework.

2.5. A number of themes emerged regarding the overall intention of the document and constructive suggestions for some changes to the format, text and design elements of the document.

2.5.1. Changes were made in response to the feedback which increased clarity in the document; a summary of the changes is provided in Attachment B to this report.

3. Recommendation

That:

1. The results of the consultation on the draft Community Engagement Framework be received and noted.

2. The Council endorse the final Community Engagement Framework as shown as Attachment A to this report to guide the City of Hobart’s work in relation to community engagement practice in the future.

4. Background

4.1. At its meeting held on 13 July 2015 the Council resolved inter alia the following:

“That: 1. The Council endorse a review of its Community Engagement Framework, commencing in the second quarter of 2015/2016.

(i) A comprehensive range of research and community engagement activities be undertaken as part of the review involving the Council and the community.

(ii) Following the review, the Council be provided with a further report on the outcomes and a draft updated Community Engagement Framework.”

4.2. Further to this report, at its meeting held on 5 December 2016 the Council resolved:

“That the Council endorse the detailed methodology outlined in the report attached to item 6.1 of the Open Governance Committee agenda of 29 November 2016, being used as the basis for the review of the Council’s Community Engagement Framework.”

4.3. Over the past 20 months, officers have been reviewing the Community Engagement Framework to provide a contemporary, values-driven framework that responds to the expectations of the community in relation to how the Council involves them in decision making.

4.4. The draft Community Engagement Framework was presented and discussed at an Aldermanic workshop on 29 May 2018 and has been the subject of an internal consultation process.

4.4.1. Following the discussion at the Aldermanic workshop, some minor amendments were made to the document.

4.5. The draft Community Engagement Framework was presented to the Economic Development and Communications Committee on 21 June 2018. At its meeting on 9 July 2018 the Council resolved the following:

“That: 1. The results of the community engagement review be received and noted.

2. The Council endorse the Draft City of Hobart Community Engagement Framework for public release for the purposes of community engagement.”

4.6. The draft framework document which was circulated for wider engagement is provided at Attachment C to this report.

5. Proposal and Implementation

5.1. It is proposed that the results of the engagement on the draft framework be received and noted and that the Council endorse the final Community Engagement Framework and approve its publication and distribution.

5.2. Subject to approval, the framework will be promoted internally to ensure that the intention of the document is implemented across the organisation.

5.2.1. Further work will be subsequently undertaken to develop a Community Engagement Staff Manual and Toolkit to provide guidance for staff. The manual will provide practical step-by-step instructions and templates on how to plan, deliver and evaluate engagement activities.

5.3. Further IAP2 training will be organised for relevant staff members and potentially Aldermen, to support capacity building across the organisation and improve community engagement practice.

5.4. Integrating the framework and IAP2 Quality Assurance Standard Process for Community and Stakeholder Engagement into the City’s project management system will be a priority.

6. Strategic Planning and Policy Considerations

6.1. The review of the Community Engagement Framework is strongly aligned with the Capital City Strategic Plan 2015-2025, in particular:

“Goal 5 - Governance

Strategic Objective 5.4 - An engaged civic culture where people feel part of decision-making.

5.4.1 - Implement best practice community engagement (IAP2) across the organisation

5.4.3 - Further enhance engagement activities with the community.”

7. Financial Implications

7.1. Funding Source and Impact on Current Year Operating Result

7.1.1. There is no financial implication to the current year operating budget as a result of this report.

7.2. Impact on Future Years’ Financial Result

7.2.1. The majority of recommendations included in the framework would be funded through existing operational budgets.

7.2.2. It is noted however, that if the Council was to approve a large scale engagement process that involved mechanisms such as a community panel, financial implications would be included in reports for those specific projects.

7.3. Asset Related Implications

7.3.1. There are no asset related implications.

8. Legal, Risk and Legislative Considerations

8.1. The implementation of the community engagement framework and staff manual will contribute to the mitigation of the Council’s strategic risk of failing to meet and respond to community and stakeholder needs and aspirations.

9. Social and Customer Considerations

9.1. The continuous development of the City’s community engagement practices and capacity building for staff will increase the opportunities for members of the community to participate equally - socially, culturally, economically, physically and/or politically in Council decision making.

9.2. Enhancing opportunities for community engagement will allow the Council to be proactive rather than reactive on issues that the community feel strongly about, leading to better community outcomes.

10. Marketing and Media

10.1. If the final Community Engagement Framework is endorsed by Council, a media release will be prepared and released at the time it is published. The final framework will also be published on the City of Hobart website and promoted through social media channels and Community and Culture Divisions’ networks. An article will also be included in the December edition of City News.

11. Community and Stakeholder Engagement

11.1. As demonstrated in this report, officers undertook a broad community engagement approach to review the current Community Engagement Framework including engagement with both internal officers and the general community.

11.2. The resulting actions and recommendations stemming from this review will provide greater opportunities for future community engagement practice for the organisation.

11.3. Following Council approval the final draft framework would be promoted to the community.

12. Delegation

12.1. This report is delegated to the Council.

As signatory to this report, I certify that, pursuant to Section 55(1) of the Local Government Act 1993, I hold no interest, as referred to in Section 49 of the Local Government Act 1993, in matters contained in this report.

Louisa Gordon

Community Engagement Advisor

Kimbra Parker

Acting Associate Director Community and Culture

Date: 13 September 2018

File Reference: F18/100952; 17/59

Attachment a: Final Community Engagement Framework - 13 September 2018 ⇩

Attachment b: Summary of feedback to the draft Community Engagement Framework ⇩

Attachment c: Draft Community Engagement Framework - 18 June 2018 ⇩

Agenda (Open Portion)

Economic Development & Communications Committee Meeting

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20/9/2018

8. Questions Without Notice

Section 29 of the Local Government (Meeting Procedures) Regulations 2015.

File Ref: 13-1-10

An Alderman may ask a question without notice of the Chairman, another Alderman, the General Manager or the General Manager’s representative, in line with the following procedures:

1. The Chairman will refuse to accept a question without notice if it does not relate to the Terms of Reference of the Council committee at which it is asked.

2. In putting a question without notice, an Alderman must not:

(i) offer an argument or opinion; or

(ii) draw any inferences or make any imputations – except so far as may be necessary to explain the question.

3. The Chairman must not permit any debate of a question without notice or its answer.

4. The Chairman, Aldermen, General Manager or General Manager’s representative who is asked a question may decline to answer the question, if in the opinion of the respondent it is considered inappropriate due to its being unclear, insulting or improper.

5. The Chairman may require a question to be put in writing.

6. Where a question without notice is asked and answered at a meeting, both the question and the response will be recorded in the minutes of that meeting.

7. Where a response is not able to be provided at the meeting, the question will be taken on notice and

(i) the minutes of the meeting at which the question is asked will record the question and the fact that it has been taken on notice.

(ii) a written response will be provided to all Aldermen, at the appropriate time.

(iii) upon the answer to the question being circulated to Aldermen, both the question and the answer will be listed on the agenda for the next available ordinary meeting of the committee at which it was asked, where it will be listed for noting purposes only.

about people	We value people – our community, our customers and colleagues.
professional	We take pride in our work.
enterprising	We look for ways to create value.
responsive	We’re accessible and focused on service.
inclusive	We respect diversity in people and ideas.
making a difference	We recognise that everything we do shapes Hobart’s future.