Take a look at Council's draft Communications and Engagement Strategy
Published on 30 June 2023
Mount Alexander Shire Council is inviting the community to provide feedback on the draft Communications and Engagement Strategy.
The strategy outlines Council’s plan to improve the delivery of communications, as well as support the community to engage and participate in Council decision making.
The strategy was informed by extensive community consultation and feedback, which was gathered through:
- 11 pop-up sessions across the shire to hear from residents
- a month-long online and hard copy survey, promoted through local newspapers, social media, posters, email newsletters and more
- face-to-face workshops with the Get Lost Creative Network and Council’s Youth Advisory Group
- three face-to-face pop-up sessions with Council staff
- two targeted workshops with Council staff
- ·one workshop with Mount Alexander Shire Councillors.
This resulted in more than 700 pieces of feedback from the community, Councillors and staff, providing valuable data that informed the strategy.
Mount Alexander Shire Council’s Mayor, Councillor Rosie Annear, said that the strategy is a big step forward in solidifying Council communications and engagement as a collaborative effort.
“We received some fantastic feedback during the consultation process,” said Mayor Annear.
“We value our community’s interest and input, and their detailed and passionate comments."
“We’ve used this feedback to inform the strategy and its actions, which will help us move forward together.
“We know there’s confusion about what Council’s roles and responsibilities are, so we’ll be working to make it easier for everyone to understand what we can and can’t do.
“You said that you want to speak directly to Councillors and staff, so we’ll be exploring opportunities for more face-to-face conversations, as well as demystifying Council’s decision-making processes.
“We know that you want every voice in the community to be heard during our consultations, so we’ll be doing more to make sure we’re reaching more of our diverse community.
“You said that you want to know more about the end result of Council projects, so we’ll be working on closing the loop more often, and communicating the outcomes of projects more clearly.
“Now that we’ve collated all this feedback, we’re ready to present it back to the community to make sure we’ve got it right.
“I encourage everyone to have a look at our draft strategy and let us know what you think.
“We can’t make this strategy without your input, so it’s important that if there are things missing, or we haven’t quite got it right, you let us know," said Mayor Annear.
Have your say
Community members are encouraged to view the draft Communications and Engagement Strategy, and provide feedback.
The development of the draft Communications and Engagement Strategy is an action in the Council Plan 2021-2025.
Submissions close on Monday 31 July.
Council will finalise the draft Communications and Engagement Strategy later this year, with the strategy scheduled to go to Councillors for consideration in October.
For more information contact Sarah Gilmour, Council’s Community Engagement Coordinator on 5471 1700 or at s.gilmour@mountalexander.vic.gov.au.