Community engagement plays a huge role in nearly everything we do at the Shine Collective – so much so that it’s inherent in our purpose: Telling the stories that matter to help shape the communities we live in.
Whether it’s helping local businesses inform locals, customers, and stakeholders about upcoming kaupapa, or supporting councils to engage with their community on a specific project, we work hard to ensure the right people are engaged at the right time, using the right methods for the intended audience.
We pride ourselves on the Mahi we deliver for our clients and communities, so we’re always looking for opportunities to add to our kete of knowledge and are up to speed with best practice.
That’s why I completed the IAP2 Australasia Certificate of Engagement earlier this year to help hone my skills in community engagement – a part of the role I possibly enjoy the most.
Having already completed the first two sessions that focused on the essentials of engagement, design and planning, the third and final session was all about applying different engagement methods to achieve the required objectives.
This is the actual ‘doing’ when it comes to engagement, and relevant tactics could include everything from hosting focus groups, to webinars, surveys, pop-up info booths, open days, workshops, and more.
The Certificate’s practical session involved linking up with 20 engagement professionals from across Aotearoa and Australia, diving deeper into the wide range of community engagement methods available, and when best to use them, before giving them a go.
As someone who has worked for local government and supported a large number of community-driven projects, it was fantastic to explore the different options – and focus on keeping it simple – in order to achieve our engagement goals.
There’s an entire matrix that has been designed to guide communication professionals through the public’s role in community engagement, based on the IAP2 Engagement Spectrum of Public Participation (inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower).
It’s all about identifying the right approach and adapting it to make it work for your community and your kaupapa – and the options are nearly endless.
Here in Aotearoa, we actually do engagement very well – something we should be all proud of. In fact, our neighbours from across the ditch were quick to point this out in all three courses I attended.
This was particularly the case when it came to discussing engaging with iwi and hapū. While at Shine we consider this one of our most important starting points, this approach isn’t always the case elsewhere in the world.
But it’s important to keep trying new things. COVID-19 showed us that the world is continuously changing, and the expectation of how people want to be engaged with changes with it.
We all had to make a complete lane change in 2020 and that has had numerous positive impacts. Digital platforms and tools are constantly evolving to gather more data and deliver more options, and for the most part, they are easy to use and navigate.
My key takeaway going forward is to blend this data with real insights, from real people, that can only be gathered by getting out into the community. It’s all about being adaptable and relevant to your target audience and applying a mixture of different methods that suit your community.
If you’re engaging with school kids, a community presentation with free coffee isn’t going to work. But gamifying your engagement method might be the answer – perhaps an educational app to inform and educate your target audience in a way they understand.
Call me old school, but the temporary disappearance of face-to-face engagement dueing the pandemic saddened me, and I’m glad to see it reappearing back into communication and engagement plans.
As the world continues to change, and the digital age continues to evolve, I hope we don’t forget about the old traditions. Of course, we should utilise the technology at our fingertips, but we should also remember that the power of conversation and personal connection cannot be beaten.
If you have an up-and-coming kaupapa that might require some form of community engagement, please don’t hesitate to reach out – we’re always keen to get involved and collaborate. and would love to help you achieve your communication and engagement goals – and to learn from what you are doing.