Community Involved Program: Review of Community Consultation for the Middle Head Management Strategy

This research thesis describes the use of a mission-directed approach to community participation. The writer describes her experience designing and implementing a consultation strategy which integrated and complemented a planning process that took place in Sydney, Australia. She also, reviews consultation best practice, and, assesses the consultation program\u27s effectiveness in relation to the evolving political context and project structure. The evolution of the community consultation approach is described and the process of developing a multi-media strategy to co-ordinate with the planning process is outlined. The communications techniques are outlined in terms of: the communications objectives they were iintended to achieve; what they contributed to the project; and, how they were undertaken. The appendix displays examples of all the consultation techniques including, photos, reports, meeting agendas, a video and an audio-cassette recording. The input from the community is summarized and the contribution which participants made to the planning process is detailed. The review of this material demonstrates where the community consultation program was effective in influencing the planning process and where it failed to deliver community ownership of project outcomes. The author examines strengths and weaknesses of the consultation approach, describes how it was hindered by the structure of the planning project, and finally offers suggestions for improvements