Week 5 Paper (for NoorFatima)

Public Engagement Plan Student EMPA 321 Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Professor No Name

Introduction:

As the city council has made a promise to citizens’ about their participatory rights while taking any final decision and it is in their Social Justice Charter as well, so before going for any commitment the particular promise will be reaffirmed. Effective community engagement will not just provide city council opportunity to build up its relationship with the community, but it will also help create a sound investment for the better future decisions as making sure the community is informed about the project and its needs and requirements are not overlooked. When the project is done in a meaningful way, it helps collaboratively build up the trust between council and community, and enhance the quality of power and strength of democracy when making the capacity of the community (270620110.doc, 2020).

Principles and practices for community engagement:

Best principal for practices to effectively approach towards the community engagement:

On-time: While planning a project engagement with the community should be planned to increase the level of influence. During planning for community engagement activities or events should be avoided. It is done during the identification of problems like we are having problems with low-income minorities and disadvantaged communities who are going to be effected so now it is the time on how we can better engage with people to avoid any hindrance during the performance of our project.

Plan for community engagement:

Step 1: Setting objectives and boundaries for engagement

Initially, it is important to make sure that the objectives associated with any community engagement plan are clear and defined along with the project itself. Existing information or any activity done in the past should be examined. Before finalizing the objectives staff planner should look upon:

· Who will make the final decision?

· What are the questions linked to the engagement activities?

· What will be an achievement?

· What level will be appropriate?

At this stage, it is important to recognize the negotiable and non-negotiable objectives of the project. Therefore, the planner will be clear to what they want to communicate and what information they will be providing. It is necessary to identify what is out of the Council’s circle of influence. As it is clear, the City council is looking for engagement for the community who are having a language barrier and directly or indirectly impacted. The gain of setting the objectives is to avoid the confusion and any unrealistic expectation of residents from the project so the chance of conflict can be minimized.

Step 2 – Identify the stakeholders:

It is an important area use to get the widest possible participation. In this area, local community development organizations should be included to better understand their interests and needs and how best they can become involved with them. As many minorities will not participate among them because they think that they are not considered a staff planner who should design an effective communication strategy through which they can easily communicate their reasons and logic to them. As many people will not raise their concerns on issues they are facing to better involve themselves requires proper discussion so they do not go unheard. And if “displacement of properties” is happening for the fixing of infrastructure for the rail station, council should think about a better alternative for people who are going to be affected. It is advised that while going for community engagement avoid the grouping of linguistically different and culturally diverse people. Consideration should be given to everyone to make sure the actions are taken for engagement completes the cultural requirements.

Step 3 – Level of Impact:

It is crucial to consult other group members before going for selection after identifying the level of impact over communities.

Step 4 – Selecting the appropriate method:

Determining individually which group is impacting will make one identify what participation level should be considered for the project. Not every stakeholder will be requiring the same engagement level, that is why the level should be selected carefully. There are various reasons why people should not engaged in the activities of council consideration and should be given to people or communities and should activities be planned accordingly to increase the potential participation. Just putting up an example to simplify it how to know the levels ad then try to reach the participants effectively.

The following matrix will help staff in recognizing what tools or methods could be used.

If you find a language barrier within a community facing the issue then the use of sign language can be done through art and creativity, photography, Vox pox, poems, songs, interactive discussions, visiting and all can be done.

Whatever method is used, it is taken in charge to be an effective project manager or planner one should know what befits it is going to provide for the one it is been made. Like if communities are not agreeing and it is causing them damage then the idea can be dropped out too.

References 270620110.doc, M. W. (2020, June 12). Community Engagement Framework . Retrieved from hume.vic.gov.au: https://www.hume.vic.gov.au/files/51cbbebe-df6c-453c-ae26-9f2800edb59f/Community_Engagement_Framework.pdf