In 2017, a panel of 50 South Australian citizens worked with planning professionals to produce a draft charter for involving the community in planning and planning reform.
Problems and Purpose
In 2016, a new Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act came into law in South Australia. The new Act required that the community be engaged early on in planning processes to increase the community’s capacity influence planning procedures [1]. This was to be guided through a community engagement charter which would describe principles for community engagement in the planning process [2].
As part of the public consultation to develop the charter, a deliberative panel – the ‘planning together panel’ comprising of 50 randomly selected South Australians and 53 planning professionals met to develop a set of core principles for the community engagement charter [3].
Background History and Context
Know what events led up to this initiative? Help us complete this section!
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The consultation process was instigated by the Government of South Australia’s Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure and the State Planning Commission. The deliberative panel was designed and facilitated by democracyCo.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The panel was comprised of 53 planning professionals and invited stakeholder organizations and 50 randomly selected South Australian residents, with 22% of participants recruited from regional South Australia [4].
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Because the community engagement charter is a legislative requirement of the new Planning Act, the panel could not be given a completely open remit and thus worked closely with professionals to ensure that the resulting charter would meet the requirements needed [5].
The overall consultation phase for the development of the community engagement charter took place in three phases. The planning together panel formed the first phase. They met and deliberated over four days and two weekends to develop a discussion draft of the community engagement charter.
During the four days, the panel were supported by a discussion guide developed by democracyCo and an architecture firm. The panel first heard presentations to help them understand the planning process and role of the charter. They then participated in collaborative workshops to develop principles of good community engagement and then draft the community charter [6].
The discussion draft developed by the panel was then released to community and stakeholder organizations for feedback for the second phase of the consultation. In the third phase, the finalized draft of the community charter was opened for formal public consultation [7].
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The final community charter was released in April 2018, based on the discussion draft from the panel, with a number of alterations. Ways in which the charter was changed include making principles more succinct and improving the structure of the charter. Details of this process can be found in this report.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us complete this section!
See Also
References
[1] Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (2020). Community Engagement Charter. Available at: https://www.saplanningportal.sa.gov.au/planning_reforms/new_planning_tools/community_engagement_charter
[2] DemocracyCo (2020). Community Engagement Charter, South Australia. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/community-engagement-charter/
[3] Planning Together Panel (2017). Planning Together Panel Draft Charter [pdf]. Available at: http://www.democracyco.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Planning-Together-Panel-Draft-Charter-30July17.pdf
[4] DemocracyCo (2020). Community Engagement Charter, South Australia. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/community-engagement-charter/
[5] Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (2017). Community Engagement Charter. YouTube: DPTI South Australia. Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg5pmjyh22k
[6] State Planning Commission (2017). Commission Engagement Report [pdf]. Available at: https://www.saplanningportal.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/450357/Commission_Engagement_Report.pdf
[7] Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (2020). Community Engagement Charter. Available at: https://www.saplanningportal.sa.gov.au/planning_reforms/new_planning_tools/community_engagement_charter
External Links
https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/community-engagement-charter/
