Problems and Purpose

Darwin is the largest city in Australia’s Northern Territory. In preparation for the expiry of its current strategic plan in 2020, the City of Darwin council began plans for its strategic plan which will run until 2030. The strategic plan would provide a vision and future direction for the council.

The council undertook its first deliberative process with a summit of Darwin residents. Participants formed ideas about their vision for Darwin’s future which were then presented to the wider community for feedback before being finalized at a second summit meeting [1].

Background History and Context

The City of Darwin's 2020 strategic plan was coming to an end. In order to ensure fresh and future-focused vision, the City of Darwin sought to develop a strategic plan for the following 10 years, resulting in this initiative [2].

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

The summit was convened by the City of Darwin council and the deliberative process was designed and facilitated by democracyCo.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

Invitations were sent to 5,000 residents within the City of Darwin and 2,000 to residents in the surrounds. From those who accepted the invitation, a random selection process was used to recruit the final 60 participants. It is not clear if or how participants were stratified, but it is suggested that they were broadly representative of the community [2], [4], [6].

Methods and Tools Used

Surveys

Deliberation

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

Prior to the deliberative summit, a public survey was used to gather views from the wider community, which were then fed into the summit [3].

The 60 summit participants met for a single day, where they heard presentations on town planning, demographics and Darwin’s future prospects. Participants also met with guest speakers including key stakeholders and representatives of ‘business, social order, youth, town planners and Indigenous people’ [4].

Following the initial summit, participants’ ideas were presented to the broader community for feedback, although it is not clear how this happened. Summit participants then reconvened two weeks after their initial meeting to consider the feedback and finalize their vision for Darwin. 

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

The council endorsed the community report from the summit and developed the strategic plan based on the summit’s report [5]. The strategic plan "Darwin 2030 City for People. City of Colour." was released and is available on the City of Darwin's website [6].

Analysis and Lessons Learned

Want to contribute an analysis of this initiative? Help us complete this section!

See Also

References

[1] City of Darwin (2020). Vision 2030 - Living Darwin. Available at: https://engage.darwin.nt.gov.au/vision-2030-living-darwin

[2] City of Darwin (2020). Vision 2030 - Living Darwin: FAQs. Available at: https://engage.darwin.nt.gov.au/vision-2030-living-darwin/faqs

[3] City of Darwin (2020). Vision 2030 - Living Darwin. Available at: https://engage.darwin.nt.gov.au/vision-2030-living-darwin

[4] Living Darwin 2030 Community (2018). Living Darwin 2030 Community Report [pdf]. Available at: http://www.democracyco.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Living_Darwin_2030_Community_Report.pdf

[5] City of Darwin (2020). Vision 2030 - Living Darwin. Available at: https://engage.darwin.nt.gov.au/vision-2030-living-darwin

[6] City of Darwin (n.d.). City for People. City of Colour. Darwin 2030 Strategic Plan. Available at: https://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/council/about-council/publications-and-forms/city-for-people-city-of-colour-darwin-2030-strategic

External Links

https://engage.darwin.nt.gov.au/vision-2030-living-darwin

https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/living-darwin-2030-strategic-plan/

Notes