Data

General Issues
Planning & Development
Governance & Political Institutions
Collections
Participedia Team
OECD Project on Representative Deliberative Processes
Location
Palmerston City
Northern Territory
0830
Australia
Scope of Influence
City/Town
Files
City of Palmerston Community Plan
Links
https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/council/have-your-say/2018/draft-community-plan
https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/palmerston-strategic-plan/
Start Date
End Date
Ongoing
No
Time Limited or Repeated?
A single, defined period of time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Deliver goods & services
Approach
Consultation
Spectrum of Public Participation
Consult
Total Number of Participants
200
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Mixed
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Random Sample
Targeted Demographics
Indigenous People
Youth
Stakeholder Organizations
General Types of Methods
Deliberative and dialogic process
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
Collect, analyse and/or solicit feedback
Recruit or select participants
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Deliberation
Workshop
Survey
Legality
Yes
Facilitators
Yes
Facilitator Training
Professional Facilitators
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Both
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
Express Opinions/Preferences Only
Information & Learning Resources
Written Briefing Materials
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
Public Report
Type of Organizer/Manager
Local Government
Funder
City of Palmerston
Type of Funder
Local Government
Staff
Yes
Volunteers
No
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in public policy
Implementers of Change
Elected Public Officials
Appointed Public Servants
Formal Evaluation
No

CASE

Palmerston Community Plan

August 4, 2020 Joyce Chen
January 28, 2020 Alanna Scott, Participedia Team
January 28, 2020 Lucy J Parry, Participedia Team
September 3, 2019 Scott Fletcher Bowlsby
July 6, 2019 Lucy J Parry, Participedia Team
General Issues
Planning & Development
Governance & Political Institutions
Collections
Participedia Team
OECD Project on Representative Deliberative Processes
Location
Palmerston City
Northern Territory
0830
Australia
Scope of Influence
City/Town
Files
City of Palmerston Community Plan
Links
https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/council/have-your-say/2018/draft-community-plan
https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/palmerston-strategic-plan/
Start Date
End Date
Ongoing
No
Time Limited or Repeated?
A single, defined period of time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Deliver goods & services
Approach
Consultation
Spectrum of Public Participation
Consult
Total Number of Participants
200
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Mixed
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Random Sample
Targeted Demographics
Indigenous People
Youth
Stakeholder Organizations
General Types of Methods
Deliberative and dialogic process
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
Collect, analyse and/or solicit feedback
Recruit or select participants
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Deliberation
Workshop
Survey
Legality
Yes
Facilitators
Yes
Facilitator Training
Professional Facilitators
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Both
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
Express Opinions/Preferences Only
Information & Learning Resources
Written Briefing Materials
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
Public Report
Type of Organizer/Manager
Local Government
Funder
City of Palmerston
Type of Funder
Local Government
Staff
Yes
Volunteers
No
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in public policy
Implementers of Change
Elected Public Officials
Appointed Public Servants
Formal Evaluation
No

As a fast-growing city in Australia's Northern Territory, Palmerston faces a number of planning and financial challenges. To this end, the council engaged in a process to involve Palmerston residents in developing a strategic plan. The process included community surveys and forums with young people and local Aboriginal communities.

Problems and Purpose

Palmerston is a city near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territories. It has a young and growing population and is popular with families [1]. In 2018, the newly elected Council embarked on a community engagement process to design a new strategic plan laying out a vision and priorities for the next ten years [2].

The council highlighted its significant financial challenges that needed to be balanced with community needs and expectations of a growing city [3]. To this end, they embarked on an deliberative engagement process with the ‘Palmerston People’s Forum’ to enable the community to draft the new plan. The forum sat alongside surveys and workshops with other sections of the community.

Background History and Context

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Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

The Palmerston People’s Forum was convened by the City of Palmerston Council. The deliberative forum was designed and facilitated by democracyCo.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The overall engagement process involved over 200 people, which included 90 who took part in a community survey and 40 randomly selected citizens who participated in the Palmerston People’s Forum. 16 young people also joined the forum for the second day by invitation [4].

The Council specifically mentions ‘business owners, parents, young people, volunteers, professionals, tradespeople and retirees’ [5] as having taken part in the process, but it is not clear whether all these groups were recruited through the random selected process for the forum, or took part by invitation, or in other parts of the process outside the forum.


Methods and Tools Used

Deliberation

Workshop

Survey

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

The process began with a workshop for elected officials to plan and input into the process. This was followed by the recruitment of initially 50 participants for the forum.

Before the forum met in person, a community survey was conducted which included forum participants. The aim of the survey was to provide ideas and expectations for the community plan.

The forum met over three days in September/October 2018. Also in September, an Indigenous Leaders and Community Forum was held separately, led by the Larrakia people. Views collected from the Indigenous forum were presented to the main forum. On the second day of the forum, participants’ families were invited to join the deliberation and see what had been achieved so far. Local school students and a youth group were also invited, with 16 young people joining the forum to share their ideas and vision for Palmerston’s future.

Council staff were encouraged to participate by providing advice and information on feasibility of different options for the plan. Participants were also provided with information about the council’s role and prospects for the city. It is not clear if the forum included expert presentations.

On the final day the forum finalized their proposals. The council itself drafted the Community Plan which was then put out for public consultation before being finalized in April 2019 [6].

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

The final Community Plan was adopted by Council in April 2019. The aim of the plan is provide a check for Council ‘to check our performance against and to hold both Elected Members and staff to account’ [7]. As such, it can be used a form of accountability for the Council’s actions in the future, given that it was developed with the community.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

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See Also

References

[1] democracyCo (2020) Palmerston Strategic Plan. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/palmerston-strategic-plan/

[2] City of Palmerston (2019) Draft Community Plan. Available at: https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/council/have-your-say/2018/draft-community-plan

[3] democracyCo (2020) Palmerston Strategic Plan. Available at: https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/palmerston-strategic-plan/

[4] City of Palmerston (2019) Draft Community Plan. Available at: https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/council/have-your-say/2018/draft-community-plan

[5] Ibid.

[6] City of Palmerston (2018). Draft Community Plan [pdf]. Available at: https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/sites/default/files/uploads/files/2018/DRAFT1_CoP_Community_Plan_2018.pdf

[7] City of Palmerston (2019). Community Plan [pdf]. Available at: https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/sites/default/files/uploads/files/2019/CoP_Community%20Plan.pdf

External Links

https://www.palmerston.nt.gov.au/council/have-your-say/2018/draft-community-plan

https://www.democracyco.com.au/our-projects/palmerston-strategic-plan/

Notes