Activities

Activities are the bread and butter of engagement. Choose one that is designed to deliver the outcomes you need, then adapt and tailor it for your unique situation and stakeholders. Use the filters below to help narrow your search.

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Advertising

Quickly getting information to a wide audience
A method of promotion for key information about a project or other engagement activities. Advertising allows you to reach both specific and broad audiences, depending on your requirements and the media...

$5k to $15k

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Communicate effectively,

Advisory committee, board or council

Expert advice and ongoing guidance
A group of appointed persons, established to provide short- or long-term advice on a specific issue or project. The people are typically a diverse mix of stakeholder representatives and subject-matter...

$15k to $75k

Deliberate,

Scope and plan,
Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Call for submissions

Fast, detailed feedback on specific content
A request made for feedback on a specific document, typically a discussion paper or recommendation report. The call is usually put out to a specific group of key stakeholders, in addition to being made...

$0 to $1k

Consult,

Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Citizens’ jury

Enabling a citizen decision-making forum
Also called a ‘planning cell’, this is a small group of people who have been carefully selected to match the demographics of a given area. They are convened to deliberate on an issue (generally one...

$15k to $75k

Deliberate,
Collaborate,

Prioritise options,

Citizens’ panel

An established, representative group that can be readily consulted
A large, demographically representative group of citizens who have been invited to be part of an ongoing program of research and consultation. Participants are generally recruited through random sampling...

$5k to $15k

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Codesign process

Ensuring participants play a part in designing the outcomes
‘Codesign’ is a mash-up of ‘collaborative’ and ‘design’ and can be used for a range of purposes, including planning for services, products or processes. Codesign is often used as an umbrella...

$1k to $5k

Deliberate,
Collaborate,

Scope and plan,
Explore options,
Prioritise options,

Collaborative problem definition

Group scoping and analysis process
Instead of assuming that the problem you’re trying to solve is predetermined, using this technique offers you a way to interrogate the problem itself and collaborate on forming a definition. A group...

$0 to $1k

Collaborate,

Scope and plan,
Scan and research,

Community mapping

Identifying assets in an area as an input to problem-solving
Also called asset mapping, this is a process of identifying places, resources and people (assets) in a community that are underutilised, provide an opportunity or otherwise have relevance to a task at...

$1k to $5k

Consult,

Scan and research,
Explore options,

Consultative interview

One-on-one in-depth discussions
A one-on-one meeting with a set agenda of questions. Usually, many interviews are conducted and the results compiled to form the overall engagement results. An interview allows for a safe and protected...

$0 to $1k

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Scan and research,
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Deliberative polling

Smarter, more representative polling of opinions
A method designed to provide a snapshot of how an ‘informed’ public might feel about an issue. The process gives participants information about an issue and time to deliberate on it before they are...

$1k to $5k

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Deliberate,

Scan and research,
Prioritise options,

Delphi process

Consensus-based document creation
A means of gaining the consensus of experts on a specific issue, often with a future or options orientation. It is coordinated by a facilitator who develops a document through iterations of questionnaires...

$1k to $5k

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Collaborate,

Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Factsheet

Visually and concisely communicate information
A short document (typically 1–2 pages) that concisely and simply conveys the facts of a situation, decision or outcome. Often, factsheets have a visual element to complement the message being communicated....

$1k to $5k

Share,

Communicate effectively,

Focus group

Small-group conversations to unpack issues and preferences
A small-group discussion led by a facilitator. Focus groups are a consultative method that is used to discover preliminary issues that are of concern to a community, or to test ideas and reactions regarding...

$1k to $5k

Consult,

Scan and research,
Prioritise options,

Free call / 1800 numbers

Getting information to a broad audience that isn’t tech-savvy
Free-call/1800 numbers provide a means for stakeholders to respond to, or have a conversation about, a topic if they have access to a telephone. Typically used in combination with an informational mail-out,...

$15k to $75k

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Communicate effectively,

Information kit

A deliberation-support tool
A selection of carefully chosen information that concisely and simply conveys the facts of a situation. It will include information on both sides of an issue and can be used as a decision-support tool...

$5k to $15k

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Communicate effectively,

Interactive e-conferencing

Electronic public meetings or presentations
E-conferences are electronic public meetings or presentations. An e-conference is usually convened for the benefit of those who are in remote locations or otherwise may not be able to attend a physical...

$5k to $15k

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Communicate effectively,

Media events

Using the media to help spread a message
Help spread information widely about your new policy or service in a short space of time, using media outlets such as television news. These are typically held when you have something to announce that...

$1k to $5k

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Communicate effectively,

Nominal group process

Group solution generation, ranking and voting technique
This technique is a quick and easy to use method to generate and prioritise ideas. It uses individual idea generation to maximise the number of ideas and improve participation from quieter group members....

$5k to $15k

Consult,

Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Policy wiki

Collaborative online policy editing
The term ‘wiki’ is used to describe a piece of software that allows multiple, dispersed authors to edit the content of web pages. This software is used to make collaborative documents, as it allows...

$5k to $15k

Deliberate,
Collaborate,

Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Press release

Getting key information to media outlets quickly using your language
A summary of the key information you want to distribute, written in a way that makes it easy for the media to reformat your content into articles or news segments. In this way, the media can widely spread...

$0 to $1k

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Communicate effectively,

Roundtable

Facilitated small-group discussion
A facilitated discussion that gives each participant equal input on a given subject. The table being ‘round’ alludes to the fact that all members of the discussion should be viewed as contributors...

$1k to $5k

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Deliberate,

Explore options,
Prioritise options,

Survey

Quickly turning opinions and data into useful statistics
Generally, a set of simple questions that enables the creation of statistics. These statistics are used to generalise about how a larger groups feels, acts and thinks regarding a topic or issue. Surveys...

$1k to $5k

Consult,

Scan and research,
Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Trade show / exhibition

Finding a captive audience for specific feedback or promotion
Trade shows and exhibitions gather together large numbers of industry members, customers and/or members of the public into a single location for a fixed period of time, usually a day or two. They typically...

$1k to $5k

Share,

Communicate effectively,

Unconference

Enabling participants to set an agenda & discuss issues they care most about
Also known as an ‘open space’, an event where the agenda is set by those who attend. This can be particularly useful during exploration to surface unexpected topics that are of interest and importance...

$1k to $5k

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Deliberate,

Scan and research,
Explore options,

Bilateral meetings

Informal discussions to explore distinct perspectives and the rationales behind them
One-on-one meetings between the government and stakeholder representatives, with the purpose of identifying issues and defining the stakeholder group’s perspective and the rationale behind it. Somewhat...

$0 to $1k

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Scan and research,
Prioritise options,

Community or public meeting

Inviting feedback from community audiences
Community or public meetings are a meeting convened with a community with a specific purpose or goal. There is no single format for a public meeting. Some may be more informational, while others may encourage...

$0 to $1k

Share,
Consult,

Scan and research,
Explore options,
Confirm options,

Charrette

Collaboratively ideating and visually representing solutions
An intensive collaborative workshop focused on delivering a specific output, often design specifications or concepts. A charrette process requires the prior identification of issues that stakeholders...

$1k to $5k

Deliberate,
Collaborate,

Explore options,

Consensus conference

Uncovering points of consensus for better planning and communication
A consensus conference is a deliberative process in which a group of citizens and experts works to develop and describe points of consensus on a particular issue. This may take the form of a report describing...

$5k to $15k

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Scan and research,

Consensus forum

Discovering points of consensus across a representative group
A deliberative process in which a representative, randomly selected group of citizens works alongside experts to develop and describe points of consensus on a particular issue. It can also be used to...

$15k to $75k

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Scan and research,

Constituent assembly

An elected representative group determining the drafting of, or changes to, a constitution
Where a country is governed by a constitution, this can usually only be changed through the formation of a constituent assembly. This is typically a group of citizens elected by a predetermined process...

$75k or more

Collaborate,

Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Search conference

Enabling participants to arrive at a shared understanding, strategy and way forward
An event where thinking and working together takes precedence over learning or listening to experts. This format is useful for complex problems that involve diverse stakeholders, especially if it’s...

$15k to $75k

Collaborate,

Scan and research,
Explore options,
Prioritise options,

Ideas Challenge

Crowdsourcing solutions
An event conducted either in person or online in which ideas are solicited from a group to solve a specific problem. This can occur over the course of a day or a number of weeks, particularly in the case...

$5k to $15k

Deliberate,
Collaborate,

Explore options,

Issues conference

Discussion-and deliberation-focused conference event
An issues conference allows a group of representative individuals to explore and draw conclusions about a topic. It typically runs over one day, commencing with more-information-based sessions in the...

$5k to $15k

Consult,
Deliberate,

Scan and research,
Explore options,

Computer-assisted participation/democracy

Using technology to enable citizen voting or self-identification on a spectrum
Computer-assisted democracy and participation encompasses a number of means for participants to contribute to, or vote on, an outcome using electronic means. It is also called electronic democracy, or...

$75k or more

Consult,
Deliberate,

Scan and research,
Prioritise options,
Confirm options,

Polling

Using votes to prioritise options
This is a process of asking participants for their preference from a range of options. This can be as simple as a yes or no answer to a question, to choosing between dozens of options. Results are usually...

$15k to $75k

Consult,

Scan and research,
Prioritise options,
Confirm options,