Are you a community engagement practitioner who’s feeling in a rut with organising business-as-usual public consultation that doesn’t quite hit the mark?
Are you new to community engagement, wanting to dip your toe in the water, but don't know where to start?
Do you work for a council, government organisation or corporation that needs to engage with the community, but you are scared of what this might mean?

You aren't alone.

Now more than ever, the way that people, groups and communities are involved in decision making needs to be got right.

Yet we are in a rut.

Trust of councils, governments, business, media and even not-for-profit organisations is at an all-time low. Decisions seem to be made more and more behind closed doors. And when consultation or engagement is undertaken, it’s done poorly, using tools and techniques that don’t give the people who are interested or affected by the decision a decent chance to influence the the decision being made.

When I wrote For the Love of Community Engagement, I said that this is an emergency. And it is.

That's why I'm proud to launch my new For the Love of Community Engagement BOOTCAMP.

This 6-week bootcamp is designed with INSPIRATION and REINVIGORATION in mind. For two hours each week we'll meet online and Becky will present on the topic at hand. There'll be a safe space to ask questions, to discuss topics with like-minded souls and to reflect on what it all means for you and your practice. Becky will throw in the occasional homework challenge, but these will always be optional.

WHAT WILL THE BOOTCAMP COVER?

Over the duration of 6 sessions, the bootcamp will cover some fundamental lessons for high quality community engagement, as identified by Becky Hirst over her 22 years' of working in community engagement to date. The content delivered during the bootcamp will draw from Becky's vast on-the-ground experiences, concepts discussed in her book For the Love of Community Engagement, and will also include some never-seen-before tools and techniques for planning effective community engagement.

Session 1: Principles & Models of Community Engagement

Know the differences between the wheel, the ladder, the triangle and the various continuums? And how about the Circle of Public-Initiated Participation? During this first session we’ll go through the popular community engagement models. By the end of the session you’ll be able to walk the talk and impress the boss by applying some overarching theory to your practice!

Session 2: Who’s Who – Knowing Who to Engage

This session will delve into the who's who of good community engagement. We'll look at a range of scenarios and you'll learn a few different methods for identifying who needs to be involved in your project. This session will also introduce the PICNIC model of people identification, mapping and analysis.

Session 3: Tools & Techniques to Facilitate Storytelling & Rich Conversations

This session will be jam packed with practical ideas to successfully deliver high quality written, face-to-face and online community engagement. Becky will share her favourite tools and techniques for engaging people in rich dialogue and her love of using a hybrid of methodology to reach the right people.

Session 4: High Quality Communication

Often overlooked in community engagement, this session will focus on how we communicate during our community engagement processes. From the start to the end of any process, it's critical that our communications are high quality. Or you'll be met with silence from your community!

Session 5: Engaging Diversity

Continually hearing from the same people with the same opinions? Got the same demographic attending all of your community meetings? One of the most common frustrations in the world of community engagement is not being able to engage with communities beyond the vocal minority. In this session you'll learn some tips, tricks and techniques to engage beyond the usual suspects, as well as how to reach those who are often described as hard-to-reach.

Session 6: Creating a Welcoming Environment

We're going to get super practical in this final session with thinking about how we can set up our community engagement initiatives to be warm and welcoming, which result in people being supported to contribute their best! From positioning engagement to be seen and heard through to avoiding the furniture graveyards, this session will leave you itching to set up your next engagement session!

WHERE AND HOW WILL THIS BOOTCAMP BE HELD?

This bootcamp will be held via a weekly Zoom call. Whilst our cameras won't be on all of the time, the sessions will be interactive. In other words, this isn't a webinar - it's a come-along-for-the-ride workshop format, with a combination of teaching from the presenter, group discussions and the occasional homework task!

WHEN WILL THIS BOOTCAMP BE HELD?

This bootcamp will run for SIX WEEKS, on either side of Christmas, on the following dates -

Friday 3 December 2021
Friday 10 December 2021
Friday 17 December 2021
Friday 14 January 2022
Friday 21 January 2022
Friday 28 January 2022 (GLOBAL COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DAY!)

The bootcamp will be held LIVE. Please double check your timezone.

Adelaide 8.30am-10.30am	Brisbane 8.00am-10,00am	Melbourne/Sydney 9am-11am
Auckland, New Zealand 11am-1pm	Washington DC, 6.00-8.00pm*	Los Angeles/Vancouver, 3.00-5.00pm*

* Day before, so please mark the Thursday's in your diary!

WHAT IF I CAN'T MAKE ONE OF THE SESSIONS?

Given the participatory style of the sessions, recordings will not be available after the event. All participants will however receive a copy of the slides used and topics discussed.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS BOOTCAMP?

This bootcamp is ideal for anyone looking to get ahead in best practice community engagement, brush up on their knowledge, freshen their thinking, or reinvigorate their passion!

Whether you’re a budding community engagement specialist, a project manager for a local council, a policy maker for government, a City Manager, an elected official, a consultant, or anything in between, if you need to involve people in decision making as part of your work, this is for YOU!

IS THERE ANY INFO I CAN SHOW MY BOSS TO GET MY ATTENDANCE APPROVED?

Absolutely! Download the BOOTCAMP Prospectus here.

WHO IS BECKY HIRST?

Becky Hirst is the author of For the Love of Community Engagement, a reflective memoir that calls for a rethink about how government connects with communities to inform their decision-making.

Through her work over the last 22 years, Becky has worked with hundreds of government clients, helping them to engage with the people they serve. She estimates that during this time she has engaged with over 50,000 people in conversations about things that matter!

Someone recently referred to Becky’s community engagement work as fingerpainting. But there’s absolutely nothing childish, soft or fluffy about what she does. Becky possesses the HARD skills that many political and business leaders find challenging: compassion, authenticity, the ability to genuinely listen and putting the needs of people first.