2015-08-18 Planning and Organisation Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                              18 AUGUST 2015


   Noosa Council’s two Jury videos were shown at the Symposium. The first was filmed
     prior to the first Jury meeting and the second was filmed near the end of the
     deliberations highlighting jurors’ experiences of the process. People in the symposium
     were moved to tears.

Noosa Council now belongs to a network of community jury experts and academics that are
scheduled to meet again in the future to help arrive at best practice models.

How we can improve the Community Jury Process

Overall the feedback received suggests that Noosa’s first Community Jury process has so
far been a success. The Jury reached a consensus and supplied a report with
recommendations that all jury members could stand by. However, as is evidenced by the
contents of this report, there are some areas where the process could be improved. In broad
terms, these are:
   Communicate and reinforce a clear understanding with the relevant Council staff that it
     takes several months for Jurors to understand and digest the large amount of
     information they have received and have requested, and that different jurors absorb
     information at different rates. Advise that patience is required.
   Emphasise to all internal parties that not allowing the jury process to flow using the
     nDF model will reduce the integrity of the process, however the nDF model does allow
     for supplementary information to be supplied to the jury in a controlled manner through
     either nDF or the independent facilitator.
   Encourage Jury members more in bringing their background documents to all
     meetings so that they can refer to it to reduce the “knowledge gaps” in the first few
     meetings.
   Involve Councillors more in the process by providing them with detailed run sheets
     prior to each meeting so that they can see how the process is planned to unfold and
     encourage them to attend the Jury meetings more.
   Communicate with and educate the community more about the magnitude and scale of
     the issue from the outset and take them “on the journey” with the Jury through more
     details about each meeting and the major points of discussion - communicated through
     the media and online channels.
   Identify Jury members who are willing to appear in the media, actively seek their
     comments to ensure that Noosa’s Jury is “humanised” so that the community can
     relate to the jury and the issue when they see that jurors are everyday members of this
     community.
   Do more to encourage the community to attend Jury meetings through media releases
     and other communications.
   Broaden the use of Your Say Noosa tools to allow for more opportunities for the
     community to get involved and have their say.
   Bring the Community Jury issue to the people using live “pop-ups” at libraries where
     Council officers can explain the issue to interested members of the community and
     ensure that the pop-ups are well advertised.
   Encourage other facilitators from the community to observe the Community Jury
     process in order to help build a pool of local facilitators.




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