The City of Yarra is asking for feedback on their draft Community Engagement Policy, via Your Say Yarra.
Citizens juries
We support the draft policy, in particular the proposal for citizens juries, deliberative panels and deliberative budgeting. We believe these methods are the best way to solve systemic issues such as the allocation of street space, the pricing of parking and allocation of budget for walking, cycling and place making.
Deliberative engagement
In the draft Action Plan, we support action 1.6, to develop (and then use) a resource guide on deliberative engagement.
Digital engagement tools
We support action 3.1, to implement a range of digital engagement tools. In particular, we suggest the development of a “Your Say Yarra” app, with residents able to receive alerts for any issue near them, or on any topic of their interest. This would deliver a much better user experience – a red dot on the app would alert users to a new topic, leading to a quick survey. Even better, Council would be able to automatically measure the response from various cohorts of stakeholders, such as young people, seniors, or women.
Engagement to suit the project
We support action 4.5, to select engagement methods to suit the project. In particular, we support citizens juries or deliberative panels for the issues of the allocation of street space and the pricing of parking.
Have your say
Have your say at Your Say Yarra:
Published on 22nd June 2020.