2017-04-11 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA    11 APRIL 2017


                                                   ATTACHMENT 1




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SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  11 APRIL 2017

                                                                                ATTACHMENT 1

   | ¢ ) |    NOOSA                                                        Council Policy
   mm meee                                       COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

   Corporate Plan Reference:                 Theme 5: Excellence as a Council
                                             Community engagement best practice is embedded
                                             into the Council’s operations
   Endorsed by Council:                      <Insert Date of Ordinary Meeting >
   Policy Author:                            Community Engagement Manager

  POLICY BACKGRUND

 This policy affirms Noosa Council's commitment to community engagement as reflected in Noosa
 Council’s purpose statement: “Working with our Community to shape Noosa Shire’s future”
  It provides a set of principles to guide community engagement practice that align with the Council’s
 Corporate Plan 2017-2037.
  POLICY SCOPE

 e   This policy applies to all facets of Council's operations where community engagement is
     undertaken.
 e   It defines the principles underpinning Council's external engagement activities, whether it is
     Councillors or staff members who are engaging with the community.
 e   This policy is focussed on external engagement, and does not include internal communication or
     engagement between Council officers, nor between Councillors and Council officers.
 COUNCIL POLICY

  Noosa Council recognises that community engagement is a vital part of effective democracy. Quality
 engagement between Council and residents makes good business practice and it is critical to good
 government. For this reason Council is committed to engaging with the Noosa community.
 The benefits of effective engagement include:
 e   Council and the community working together to address local issues and collectively achieving
     better outcomes;
 e   ahigher level of community ownership of decisions made by Council;
 e   animproved level of community understanding about Council’s processes and services;
 e   increased awareness across Council of community views and concerns;
 e   opportunities for Council to draw upon community expertise;
 e   the potential for time and cost savings due to better alignment between community needs and
     Council decisions;
 e   increased social capital due to greater trust and knowledge acquired while working
     collaboratively with the community, including the sharing of aspirations, and;
 e   stronger relationships between Councillors, Council officers and residents, including stakeholder
     groups.

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