Meeting papers

ORDINARY MEETING                                                                     16 MAY 2024


9.2     OVERVIEW OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR 2024


Author            Community Engagement Advisor, Caroline Osborne
                  Communications & Community Engagement | Office of the CEO & Mayor
Index             ECM Doc ID 23016004
Attachments       1.   Schedule of Community Engagement to August 2024


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Noosa Council continues to design, plan and deliver an extensive program of community and
stakeholder engagement across the Noosa Shire. This includes several major strategic projects that
have benefitted from community insights to inform decision-making, together with ongoing targeted
engagement and communications projects.

Over the last term, Council engaged the community on a range of key strategic projects including,
but not limited to, the Waste Strategy 2023 - 2028, the Corporate Plan 2023 - 2028, the Housing
Strategy 2022, the Liveability Survey 2021, Eastern Beaches Foreshore Reserves Management
Plan, Destination Management Plan Phase 1, Noosa Drive Pathway Concept Designs, Noosaville
Foreshore Infrastructure Master Plan and Concepts for Resilience Phase 1 and the Noosa Regional
Gallery Future Needs and Options.

This term of Council continues to finalise a significant schedule of engagement for 2024 including,
but not limited to, the Destination Management Plan Phase 2, Amendment No.2 to the Noosa Plan
2020, Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Master Plan and Concepts for Resilience Phase 2, Noosa
Botanic Gardens Infrastructure Master Plan, Pomona Placemaking Pilot Phase 2 and a Council
decision on the next steps to take regarding the Noosa River Catchment Management Plan.

Due to the extensive program of ongoing community engagement and stakeholder communications
projects across the organisation, it is important that Council strategically conducts community
engagement and communications, in line with Council's Community Engagement Framework and
Policy. This will ensure that the community is engaged only on matters where community interest,
impact and influence will meaningfully inform Council decisions.

In matters where community interest, impact and influence are limited, Council will focus on
communications approaches to keep stakeholders and the community informed. By clearly
identifying the level of influence the community will have on a decision, and communicating this
accordingly, Council may minimise engagement fatigue within the community.

Council also continues to leverage valuable engagement data captured across other key strategic
projects to inform Council's ongoing operational priorities. For example, the quality and extent of
information gathered from community engagement in Phase 1 of the draft Destination Management
Plan continues to inform internal engagement and strategic directions such as parking management,
event management and infrastructure planning considerations.

On major strategic community engagement projects, Council continues to support approaches to
engagement that provide at least one or two opportunities for the community to engage. Where
feasible, Council also supports co-development opportunities with the local community, for example,
the Pomona Placemaking Pilot project.

In line with our Community Engagement Framework, Council will endeavour to close the loop with
the community, sharing what was heard from the community and how this has informed Council
decision-making.




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