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?
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.
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!
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...
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.
Deliberative democracy isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ type of deal. Deliberative processes can come in multiple packages, and deliberative elements can be integrated into a range of different engagement approaches. However, a truly deliberative process is built around some simple core principles, and it’s risky to call a process ‘deliberation’ if it doesn’t truly hit the mark.
So, what are the principles of deliberative democracy, and how would we know if a process wasn’t truly deliberative?
Facilitators work across many industries, audiences and topics, and sometimes the issues or information being considered are complex or technical. We’re often asked how we manage to move across so many broad ranging issues and projects, and whether we need to become ‘experts’ in each topic before we facilitate.
This #MonthlyMyth explores some of the misunderstandings that sit behind this myth, highlights the true role of a facilitator, and uncovers how facilitators really work with information and content.
Deliberation can be refer to either a micro-process (something you can build into part of a session or engagement process) or a full deliberative democracy process (such as a citizens’ jury).
Deliberative engagement has a lot of potential benefits - these processes can lead to new solutions to challenging problems, improve policy outcomes and engender trust between citizens and decision makers.
So, is deliberation always the right answer/process? The short answer is no.
We’re kicking off our 2019 #MonthlyMyth series by addressing a topic we’re often asked about. We’ve noticed that it’s an issue that makes organisations nervous. There’s a fear that (where a randomly selected panel or jury is involved) stakeholder and interest groups will be cut out of the conversation and oppose the process or decision.
Luckily, not only is it important to incorporate these groups in a deliberative process, there’s also lots of ways they can be involved. Today we’re exploring why it’s a good idea to do so, and giving you seven ways to bring them on your deliberative journey.
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.
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.
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.
Sometimes, as facilitators, we find ourselves in awe of a skilled Master of Ceremonies (emcee). Some emcees can really bring an event to life, confidently engaging the audience and seamlessly pull an occasion together with effortless flow and poise. Where appropriate, the best MC’s will also inject humour and entertainment and make an event ‘sparkle’.
The reason we’re so impressed is that this isn’t our core skill set! Contrary to popular belief, these two roles aren't interchangeable. To address this month's myth, we interviewed a professional emcee and professional facilitator, gaining first hand insights into these two unique worlds.
It’s important to consider and tailor your engagement approach to ensure you meet the needs of all stakeholders, and that includes those who have the most to say.
This mistake, however , lies in forgetting about everyone else. Suddenly, you realise the needs and opinions of a few have demanded time, attention and resources at the expense of the rest of your stakeholders or community.
Today we’re addressing this myth by providing 9 ways to ensure diverse perspectives make it into your next process.
If you’re planning for engagement you need to consider how you engage one of your most critical stakeholder groups – decision makers. Involving them in an appropriate, effective way is a crucial step. We often see employees struggling to successfully navigate this part of their planning journey and, unfortunately, not only can it be tricky, it’s also one of the top reasons engagement processes fall over.
Get it wrong and you face a myriad of potential (unwanted) consequences. From lengthy delays to mid-process back tracking, community outrage to complete project cancellation –not only might your whole process fall over, you could cause irreparable damage to the reputation and relationships you’re attempting to build.
In today’s post, we’re highlighting the most common mistakes made in this space and providing 8 top tips for upping your decision maker engagement game.
