Welcome

Update - 24 February 2021

Council adopted its Community Engagement Policy at the council meeting on 23 February 2021.

Appreciation and thanks to everyone who shared their feedback, it all helped to shape and develop this policy.

You can find and read the adopted policy in the the document library in the right hand column of this page.

Update - 4 February 2021

Contributions to this engagement closed for evaluation, a report being presented to Council at its February meeting.

Introduction

At its 15 December 2020 Council meeting,Council endorsed a draft Community Engagement Policy to be shared with the community for review and feedback.

The draft Policy outlines Council's focus on building its longstanding commitment to provide accessible and inclusive opportunities for residents to be involved in and help shape decisions which impact the region’s liveability and prosperity.

This draft Policy was developed following an engagement review and community consultation in September 2020, and with reference to the Local Government Act 2020 engagement requirements.

The draft Policy outlines the City’s responsibility and commitment to planning and delivering best practice engagement and reporting back to the community about what was learnt, including the data and information collected in the engagement process, and how the feedback received has influenced decisions, plans and activities.

It also seeks to support enhanced participation from people from diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences and abilities, recognising the importance of equity, access and inclusion as a key priority in our engagements.

We recommend you review the draft Community Engagement Policy before providing your feedback via the survey, submission or workshop.

Thank you for your interest!

Engagement Review (August-September 2020)

The City of Greater Geelong invited feedback about our engagement approach, through a survey on this page, explaining this feedback would inform the development of a draft Community Engagement Policy and to guide the City's future engagement approach.

Feedback collated and considered (September-October 2020)

35 survey responses were received from community and City employees. Feedback highlighted agreement that Council provides opportunities for the community to be involved in decision making processes, and highlighted opportunities for Council to be more inclusive and provide participants with more information about how input has been considered and has influenced a decision.

Development of draft Community Engagement Policy (October - November 2020)

The draft Community Engagement Policy was developed during October - November 2020. The development of the draft Policy reflected Council's commitment to best-practice engagement and also aligned with our obligations under the Local Government Act 2020.

Draft Policy for review (December onwards)

The draft Policy was presented at the Council Meeting on Tuesday 15 December and endorsed by Council for community consultation commencing on Wednesday 16 December 2020.

We'd love you to read the draft Community Engagement Policy and provide your feedback through one or all of the following:

  1. Complete our online survey (or request a hard copy).
  2. Participate in one of our online workshops.
  3. Provide a general written submission (you can chose to submit online, via email, or by post).
  4. Answer our quick poll question about community engagement opportunities.

If you haven't already done so..

  • join our online community - to participate in shaping our future. Register as a user on our Have Your Say website and you can select your areas of interest and receive notification when any related projects are seeking community participation.
  • you can 'follow' this project to get automatic updates whenever the page is updated.

Once the draft Engagement Policy closes for feedback, we will collate and consider all responses as we finalise Council's Community Engagement Policy.

Feedback from the community and any recommendations for change will be presented to Council for approval and adoption at the Council Meeting in February 2021.

The newly adopted Community Engagement Policy will be published on Council's website, and here on our Have Your Say page, along with an updated summary report, including what we heard and what changes were made in response to feedback.

Workshops

WORKSHOPS ARE NOW CLOSED

If you would prefer to provide your feedback in a group workshop with other community members, we are running two community workshops via zoom video conferencing:

  • 6.00pm to 7:30pm on Thursday 28 January 2021
  • 12:00pm to 1:30pm Monday 1 February 2021.

To register your interest, please provide your details below, and we will be in touch with further information.

Workshop registration closes Friday 22 January 2021. Numbers will be limited to about 15 people per session.


Survey

General Feedback

If you would prefer to provide personalised feedback about the draft Community Engagement Policy, you can submit online feedback by using the form below, or you can lodge a submission by email or post.

Email:

fbolitho@geelongcity.vic.gov.au


Post:

Felicity Bolitho

Engagement Coordinator

City of Greater Geelong,

PO Box 104,

Geelong Vic 3220


The personal information requested on this form is being collected by City of Greater Geelong for the purpose of the development of Council's Community Engagement Policy or any other directly related purpose. If the personal information is not collected, we may not be able to contact you for further questions or solutions. Your personal information will not be disclosed, except as required to do so by law. Our privacy policy is available on our website. If you wish to alter any of the personal information you have supplied to City of Greater Geelong, please contact us by sending an email to privacy@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.