Chapter 11: Working with the Australian community

Abbreviations

A list of the abbreviations used in this report is available in the Glossary

Engaging with the community

Working with the community is central to the business of the APS. Effective service delivery will always be a key part of how we measure our success in this area. Increasingly, the effectiveness of our consultation and the way we work with external stakeholders are also critical.

In Australia and internationally, attention is now turning to areas where a more active engagement with the community can benefit the Government in achieving successful outcomes. The extent to which involvement is appropriate will depend on the nature of the issue, but is likely to be most beneficial in areas where the APS is dealing with complex and seemingly intractable problems—in areas such as water, public health and Indigenous policy.

In its 2001 report, Citizens as Partners: Information, Consultation and Public Participation in Policy-Making, the OECD described a range of concrete measures and principles for strengthening the relationship between governments and their citizens. The report outlines three levels of citizen involvement in policy-making:

information—a one-way relationship, where governments produce and disseminate information to citizens
consultation—a two-way relationship where citizens provide feedback to government
active participation—a relationship based on partnership with government, where citizens engage in defining the policy content and process.¹³

The Government Communication Network in the UK has launched ‘Engage’, a programme to enable greater involvement by the public in the policy development process. The Engage framework will allow the Government to better utilise and adapt well-tried principles and techniques of strategic communication in its efforts to change community attitudes towards policy-making. Engage is supported by:

a knowledge bank which provides the community with a practical set of principles, tools, case studies and training materials to create more ‘engaging’ communication
a programme of events, training and development courses to assist the public in making the most of these materials
a leadership and engagement programme that supplies a context in which government communications can best foster community participation in policy-making.

Engaging the community at each of these levels is appropriate in different contexts, depending on what agencies are seeking to achieve, and taking into account the resources available and the likely impact on outcomes.

The potential benefits are significant. Engaging the community more directly can provide governments with access to broader perspectives and potential solutions and, ultimately, better decisions. It can be particularly effective when the policy objective is to influence community behaviour.

There are, however, also risks associated with involving the community in policy-making, or even in seeking their feedback. Encouraging community participation, for example, where the outcome seems to have been predetermined or where input is perceived to have not been heard or ignored, may in fact do more harm than good.

To make the most of this aspect of its activities, the APS needs to build its capacity to effectively and successfully engage the Australian community. This will include recruiting for and developing strong relationship management skills, the willingness and ability to listen to the views of others, and conflict resolution and negotiation skills.

There have already been significant achievements in this area in the APS, for example, the development of Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs) and Regional Partnership Agreements (RPAs) with Indigenous communities. These agreements are an important part of the Government’s new approach in addressing Indigenous disadvantage.

Shared Responsibility Agreements are developed voluntarily between the Government and Indigenous communities, and can also involve state, territory and local governments, the private sector and philanthropic organisations. In return for discretionary benefits from the Government, communities make specific commitments to achieve their identified goals. These agreements are driven by the community—it is the community that decides the issues or priorities it wants to address, how it would like to address them, and what it will do in return for government investment. The agreements also outline accountabilities and set out what families, communities, governments and other partners will contribute to address local priorities and the outcomes to be achieved. There are currently over 150 SRAs in operation across Australia.

Regional Partnership Agreements are also an important element in engaging with Indigenous communities. These agreements are broader in their application than SRAs and target government interventions across a whole region. Regional Partnership Agreements are in their infancy, with the first RPA signed by the Ngaanyatjarra Council and the Australian and Western Australian Governments and the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku in August 2005. Through the RPA, the governments, the Council and the Ngaanyatjarra people are committed to working together to improve services, reduce red tape and develop an investment plan for the area. As part of the RPA, three SRAs have been signed with communities in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands.

APS agencies are likely to be increasingly looking at where they can use more direct community engagement to add value. Almost half (47%) of APS employees already agree that their agency encourages the public to participate in shaping and administering policy. Other employees were more likely to neither agree nor disagree (27%) than to disagree (16%), with 10% not sure. From the employee perspective, however, there is room to improve how agencies are perceived by the public. Only 44% of employees agreed that their agency had earned a high level of public trust. This is an area which agencies may need to address if active engagement with the community is to deliver high-quality outcomes.

OECD 2001, Citizens as Partners: Information, Consultation and Public Participation in Policy-Making, <http://www.oecd.org>

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