Beyond consultation: tips for meaningful community engagement on a local scale

Residents find it increasingly important to participate in the shaping of local policies. They want to share ideas, think about solutions and co-create the community together. As a council, it is important to be more ambitious when it comes to participation and explore engagement methods beyond traditional survey consultations. 

The closer you involve your community, the higher you rank on the participation ladder. But how do you climb up, start a real dialogue and make public participation a central part of your decision-making process? When is the best time to use a particular participation method, and what should you pay attention to?

Looking back on her experience leading ​​the Digital Engagement team at the Scottish Government as well as her current work with local councils, our Government Success Manager Chris will share learnings from multiple participation projects.

• Best practices for making engagement projects more inclusive
• Clear takeaways for incorporating inclusion in your council’s projects
• Ideas for using digital tools & how to combine them with face-to-face interaction for advanced inclusion

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Guests:
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Eleni Katrini is a designer and researcher with experience in academia, local government, private and voluntary sector. She is currently holding a position as a Senior Regeneration Manager at Newham council, working on developing strategies for Newham’s high streets based on evidence and co-design.

Jonathan McClue is a Principal Planning Officer at the London Borough of Camden, responsible for major developments within the development management service. Jonathan is passionate about community consultation and helped pioneer Camden’s remote Development Management Forum process, which is a formal part of Camden’s pre-application consultation procedure on large and strategic schemes.

Moderated by Lora Botev, Business Development Manager UK