Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
JUMP ON BOARD! THE NEXT ENGAGEMENT ERA AWAITS

We’re feeling energised as we zoom through the first month of the new year. That’s because we can see what’s ahead, and we’re excited about the possibilities. Are you ready to set sail with us? We’re celebrating what’s been achieved in partnership with people just like you so far, while setting our sights on facilitating more important conversations in more places and having even more positive impact on more communities. We’re ready to embrace where engagement and deliberation are going, are you?

JUMP ON BOARD! THE NEXT ENGAGEMENT ERA AWAITS
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
THAT'S A WRAP 2023! GRATITUDE, HIGHLIGHTS & ...

A message of thanks to you - our clients, participants, partners and friends - and hope for what’s ahead. As we head towards the end of a big year of big conversations, our team shares what they’re grateful for, their biggest highlight of 2023 and what’s really lighting them up when they think forward to the new year ahead.

THAT'S A WRAP 2023! GRATITUDE, HIGHLIGHTS & HOPE FOR WHAT'S AHEAD
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
TEAM SPOTLIGHT: BELINDA AND FOX

Meet the newest additions to the MosaicLab team: Belinda Lowing and Fox Gillen. Both Belinda and Fox have long career histories that span across interesting and complex roles that have included facilitation and engagement in many forms. Learn more about these two and gain some insights into who they REALLY are through their answers to our fast five questions!

TEAM SPOTLIGHT: BELINDA AND FOX
Meet MosaicLab
Nicole Hunter
TEAM SPOTLIGHT: JODY AND AARON

Ever wondered what makes our facilitators tick? Meet the newest additions to the MosaicLab team: Jody Kingston and Aaron Bosch. Both Aaron and Jody have fascinating, diverse backgrounds and have come to MosaicLab and facilitation via interesting pathways. Find out what they love about their work, what impact they hope to have and how they answered a list of fun and probing questions that we like to call The Telling Top 10... 

TEAM SPOTLIGHT: JODY AND AARON
Case studies
Nicole Hunter
CASE STUDY: TACKLING TOBACCO HARM IN PUBLIC ...

Four language interpreters. Child-minding. Recruitment challenges. Birthday cake and a lot of laughs. These are just some of the unique highlights of our work with Quit Victoria and VicHealth in 2022 on a project to reduce tobacco-related harm in public housing. This case study takes a detailed look at how MosaicLab supported this process with a residents’ panel and sense-making workshops. All to drive improved, long-term outcomes for community and public health.

CASE STUDY: TACKLING TOBACCO HARM IN PUBLIC HOUSING

planning

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#MONTHLYMYTH: LOW INFLUENCE = LOW RISK

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#MONTHLYMYTH: LOW INFLUENCE = LOW RISK

This month’s myth addresses mistaken assumption that offering people less influence over a decision translates to the organisation having increased control over the process and outcomes. 

Some engagement processes lend themselves to a lower level of influence than others, However, if the intention is to reduce influence in an attempt to ‘manage’ the process, control outcomes, cut corners or minimise time and resources, organisations can find themselves in hot water. 

Read on for 6 key questions you can ask to determine the right level of influence and a list of helpful reading and resources. 

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#MONTHLYMYTH: PREP THE PLAN FIRST

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#MONTHLYMYTH: PREP THE PLAN FIRST

Want to get the best possible value out of the consultant or facilitator you engage?  Hoping to minimise wasted time, money and resources?  Seeking to deliver an engagement process that’s as effective as possible?  Our tip: don’t develop a detailed engagement methodology before you appoint your consultant. 

This month’s myth explores the potential consequences of this all too common error and provides 4 steps to achieving the best possible return on your consultant investment and delivering an effective process.

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#MONTHLYMYTH: MORE IS MORE

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#MONTHLYMYTH: MORE IS MORE

Often, the purpose of an engagement process (or one phase of an engagement process) is to cast the net wide, capturing as many views and voices as possible.   Often, this is a good approach, particularly at the beginning of a longer engagement process.  What you generally don’t want to aim for, however, is the highest possible volume of feedback and data, with no regard for how useful or informed that input is.

Today we’re highlighting why you might get an overload of responses – many of which aren’t relevant to the issue at hand, why this is a problem, and how you can avoid it for your next process.

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#MonthlyMyth: Glossy, simple content = informed participants

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#MonthlyMyth: Glossy, simple content = informed participants

When you’re preparing information inputs for a community engagement process, organisations can spend a lot of time producing glossy brochures and simplified, summarised content.  It’s easy to get lost in all the posters and paragraphs and lose sight of what’s important - what you’re really saying about the issue or decision at hand.

Getting the balance right can be challenging.  So, in this post we’ll not only address this months myth, we’ll also give you 6 simple tips for providing the right information at the right level of detail.

#MonthlyMyth: Warm up activities have no purpose

#MonthlyMyth: Warm up activities have no purpose

Now and then we hear people say that what you might loosely categorise as ‘warm up’ or ‘introductory’ or ‘getting to know you’ activities are pointless exercises with no real purpose.   It is assumed (perhaps?) that they are something facilitators do just because that’s what facilitators do and they like to ‘play games, not because they have any bearing on the issue at hand or any tangible benefit to the group.

We can’t speak on behalf of all these types of activities (perhaps there are some out there that really are annoying, pointless and fluffy!); however, today, with the kind of activities that an effective, experienced facilitator might use in mind, we’re debunking this myth.