6 Reasons Why Participation is Important

You might think that you should leave it up to the professionals and your elected representative. Maybe you are a little skeptical and think your comments won't be considered. But being involved in community engagement is not a waste of your time and there are many reasons you should get involved.

Your Opinion is Important

• Decision makers genuinely want to hear your ideas and feedback.
• Community engagement is a vital part of many projects and the benefits of it are well documents, such as better outcomes for all stakeholders, community ownership and lower project costs.
• Effective community engagement is about recognising that involving the public in a project is no longer about telling the people what is being done, but is a two-way information sharing tool.
• Regardless of your qualifications, everyone knows what they like and dislike, has an opinion about what needs to be done and where priorities should lay.

More Perspectives

• Community engagement is often heavily one-sided, and engagement projects can be inundated with input from only those community members who have a strong opinion.
• Without other perspectives being aired, decision makers might not make the best decision for the community as a whole simply because of a minority of loud voice.
• If your opinion differs to the more popular opinions, decision makers want to hear from you so they get a balanced understanding of the community's views. Additional perspectives expand options and enhance the value of the final decision.
• The more views gathers in the process of making a decision, the more likely the final product will meet the needs and address the most concerns possible. If you fear repercussions of going against a vocal group, engagement can often be done anonymously.

New Information

• Decision makers recognise that the community that uses the space that it's planning for have an intimate and unique relationship to the area that they don't
• Because of this knowledge, community members can provide new information on a project that has yet to be considered.
• Public involvement brings more information to the decision, including scientific or technical knowledge, knowledge about the context where decisions are implemented, history and personalities.
• More information can make the difference between a good and poor decision.

Community Benefit / Ownership

• When the community is involved in a project, they have ownership of it and the decision making process, which is key to a successful project outcome, even if not all individuals necessarily agree with the outcome.

It Feels Good

• When a project is finalised and you can see the fruits of your labour, it feels good knowing that you were involved in something that benefits the community.

A Numbers Games

• For public agencies with political leaders, the total number of people engaged is important. Engaging higher numbers gives the elected representatives confidence in their decision.

How To Get Involved...

If you want to get involved but don't know where to start, most organisations are active on social media and notify followers when they are seeking comment.

• Follow key councils, state agencies, infrastructure providers etc. on social media, their website/newsletter or the local newspaper.
• Attend public meetings. Talking to your local representatives in person is a great way to get an understanding of the project and how you can get involved.
• If face-to-face is not for you, online community engagement methods are becoming increasingly popular and often surveys, polls and other interactive online tools are used throughout consultations.