Beyond Consultation

Ep 13 - Shifting Auckland Council's Culture of Engagement, with Helen Grant

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Introducing Helen Grant

A driving force for citizen value and engagement within Auckland Council, Helen has played a lead role in shifting the Council’s culture of community engagement over the last 7+ years.

You’ll find this won’t come as a surprise…. as community engagement has always been a big part of Helen’s life.

From her childhood running amongst local markets where her family were stallholders, to later co-founding the Ponsonby Street Markets where she loved connecting with the local designers and makers. Helen is not one to sit still for long.

Fast forward to now, and you can feel Helen’s excitement about using digital platforms to leverage the wisdom of Auckland’s diverse communities.

You reach out and connect with Helen via LinkedIn.

In today’s episode you’ll learn
  • What to consider when shifting the entire culture of engagement in your organisation
  • How to build the connections between online and offline engagement, no matter your organisation’s size
  • the nitty gritty of what Auckland Council did to embed community engagement across the whole organisation
  • The potential for participatory budgets to help citizens understand the challenges of your organisation’s work
  • Plus strap yourself in for an Auckland Council tale about the community politely giving the Council a wake-up call…

    • Resources mentioned in this episode

    • Beyond Consultation Episode 11 - Embedding Engagement in Your Organisation’s DNA. Jump back and listen to this episode before diving in with Helen Grant (episode 13).
    • Report by The Policy Observatory on The Governance of Auckland: 5 years on
    • Report: OECD ‘Catching the Deliberate Wave’ .
      • A comparative study that analyses how representative deliberative processes are being used for public decision making around the world.
    • Budget Engagement (Bang the Table)
      • A tool for the community to engage and interact with the city’s budget. Empowering residents to explore, learn, and provide feedback on proposed budgets.
    • Example of Engagement HQ tools in action: Wellington City Council Annual Plan - A Budget Balancing Act
    • Engagement HQ Platform (Bang the Table)
    • Social Pinpoint Platform
    • Auckland City Council’s Thriving Communities Action Plan.



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