The fourth principle of engagement is to start together. Engage early with your community for better outcomes for both the community and government. Build relationships that are authentic, strong and lead to trust. Early engagement results in better outcomes for both the community and government.
Starting together to define the purpose and objectives of your strategy can:
- save time and resources down the track
- reduce the risk of encountering future problems, including community opposition
- build a sense of ownership and stewardship in the community
- help bring people together for a positive purpose.
A co-design process can create collective action by stakeholders and communities in implementing the solution.
Building relationships
To start together, build strong, authentic relationships which lead to trust, understanding and openness. Strong relationships form the foundation upon which to build a successful community engagement. Relationships may be with internal (government) or external participants.
Government relationships are as important as relationships with external stakeholders. Identify and build relationships with internal stakeholders during the planning phase of your engagement process (Principle 2). They could help shape your strategy and provide valuable information to assist with your initiative.
Put in the groundwork for good relationships before doing anything else and start early as this takes time.
Working together towards outcomes
Starting together means:
- working with communities and stakeholders to identify challenges and opportunities, rather than starting from a predetermined outcome or decision
- taking a ‘blank canvas’ approach, acknowledging the participants’ concerns and aspirations related to your engagement’s purpose.
If you can establish collective objectives with clear actions, all parties can work collaboratively to a positive outcome.
Encourage participation by allowing stakeholders to co-design the engagement process (PDF, 893 KB). Ask them how they should be engaged and what processes and mechanisms would work best for them.
How Principle 4 is applied differs considerably across the levels of engagement on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation (PDF, 755 KB).
Bring your engagement, communications and policy staff together. Their collaboration will ensure that activities are well communicated and that those responsible for implementing the final outcomes understand the community’s priorities. This will ensure that starting together can be achieved to a satisfactory level, with greater opportunity for positive outcomes.