Community Consultation and Engagement Course
If your work impacts the community, it helps to first understand their views on the issue. In this community consultation and engagement course you will learn how to better inform government and organisational decision-making to achieve the best internal and external result.
During this community engagement course you will learn how to project manage and tailor effective quality consultation principles and practices using an outcome-based approach, to meet the requirements of your project and agency. You will learn how to systematically scope and design a fit-for-purpose consultation process and investigate different engagement options, including engaging with hard-to-reach groups. Additionally, you will explore how to present impactful engagement findings to influence and guide decision-makers.
| Duration | One session (8 hours in total) |
| Dates | Class code: CCE4 Class code: CCE1 (2025) Class code: CCE2 (2025) Class code: CCE3 (2025) Class code: CCE4 (2025) |
| Time | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Venue | UTS City Campus |
| Cost | $698 (GST free) |
This course will benefit any individual involved in the design, delivery or use of community engagement and stakeholder consultations.
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Course content
This community consultation and engagement course will cover the following content:
Introduction to stakeholder engagement
- What is stakeholder engagement
- Engagement spectrum: purposes and types of engagement
- What makes for quality engagement
- How to support quality engagement within organisations
- Common engagement terms and methodologies in use in Australia
- Participation barriers, research risks, limitations and qualifications
- Where and when to start
Engagement planning and design
- Use of a staged, project management approach to engagement, covering:
- Scoping/ Identifying
- Designing
- Undertaking
- Distilling
- Reporting
- Communications and Feedback
- How to select fit-for-purpose engagement methods
- Bringing your plan into action
Engagement methods and tools
- Clarity of purpose and method alignment (IAP2)
- About human research ethics and use of discussion guides
- Common engagement methods, including key considerations and tips related to hosting:
- Stakeholder meetings
- Focus groups and interviews
- Online surveys
- Other digital and emerging options
- Importance of informal techniques.
- Essentials of respectful feedback and active listening
- 101 of managing difficult people and challenging interactions
Learning outcomes
On completion of this community engagement course participants will have increased knowledge, understanding and skills in the following:
- Ability to effectively plan community consultation and engagement within a project management framework
- Awareness of the key steps involved in planning and implementing relevant outcomes-based community engagement and stakeholder consultations
- Identify how to use the right engagement tool at the right time for the right audience
- Confidence to write and pitch for impact when using engagement outcomes in advice to decision makers, including elected officials.
Delivery style
This project management course will be delivered as an interactive workshop consisting of an instructor-led lecture, group and individual activities. This training approach allows participants to work through concepts introduced by the trainer in an application-focused teaching environment. Participants will challenge their understanding of the concepts and consider their application once back in their individual workplace.
About the presenter
Edwina Deakin is currently a Senior Manager Advisory at the UTS Institute for Public Policy and Governance. She is the Project Manager and a lead author of the new IPPG Community Engagement for Impact Guide.
Edwina has been involved in commissioning, designing and delivering community engagement activities for over 25 years - as a NSW government policy director, social policy consultant and community engagement trainer. Edwina has worked with a wide range of organisations - undertaking over 30 major consultation projects: including various state-wide and local government area engagement activities. Edwina holds BA Honours degree, a Masters in Communications, Graduate Diploma in Education, and a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
Course prerequisites
This community engagement course has no prerequisites and is open to all members of the public.
Course registration
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Contact us
Need more information? For all course related enquiries, including future dates or in-house training enquiries email us or call +61 (2) 9514 7884.
This short course is presented by the university's Institute for Public Policy and Governance. Learn more about the Institute's advisory and research services, local government postgraduate courses and professional learning and development programs.
