Together for good – the client challenge
Victoria’s Suburban Revitalisation program is about local needs and local action. Central to the program are eight Suburban Revitalisation Boards, driving economic and social prosperity in Boronia, Broadmeadows, Frankston, Lilydale, Melton, Noble Park, Reservoir and Tarneit.
Bringing the right thinking and people to the table
We partnered with the Office for Suburban Development to design and facilitate a series of engaging and pragmatic workshops with each Board during April 2022.
We crafted a program of place-based engagement that provided an opportunity for Boards to reflect on their achievements, and to identify where the next phase of focus and investment would deliver greatest local benefits.
We met with Chairs in advance to ensure our workshops reflected unique local contexts and the bespoke membership of each board, and built on strong foundations and past achievements.
Each session combined appreciative enquiry facilitation with the creative use of in-session technology via the Mentimeter tool. We deployed a range of ideation and design-thinking techniques to create a safe space for unconstrained thinking and new ideas, ensuring the voices of all participants were heard. Several sessions included remote attendance from Board members, which we integrated into our session design for a seamless hybrid workshop experience.
We synthesised outputs into 8 workshop reports, each outlining crisp, clear and prioritised local actions that each Board wished to pursue. We supported these with identification of themes and patterns across each Board where system-level change might be explored.
Sectors
Services
The positive change we delivered
The outcome of Board workshops informed each Board’s End of Term Report, providing advice to government on the next phase of the suburban revitalisation agenda.
Based on the Boards’ advice, the Victorian government has recently announced funding for a range of local projects designed to drive renewal activity in each of the eight suburbs.
By helping Suburban Revitalisation Boards match local action to local needs, we supported the liveability, cohesion and prosperity of Victoria’s local communities.
Insights for inquisitive minds
- To facilitate immersive workshops in local settings, choose venues and locations that are windows into life in that community
- Effective engagement recognises connections between the local partners who form ‘coalitions of the willing’ for local action
- When facilitating workshops that make use of in-session technology, be mindful of participant neuro-diversity to ensure an inclusive experience for everyone
