Reviewing a community engagement plan

This guide sets out SCA's suggested review process for teams preparing an engagement programme or taking responsibility for an existing one. Use it alongside the project's approval requirements and earlier commitments, with the relevant specialists confirming any obligations that apply.

Start with the decisions

List the decisions the project expects to make during the period covered by the plan. For each decision, record its owner, its due date and the points on which community input could change the outcome. Separate settled matters from those still open, and explain the reasons for any limits.

Check whether there is time to consider feedback before the decision is made. A consultation that closes after a design is committed cannot offer the same influence as one conducted while alternatives remain available. If the timetable is fixed, the plan should describe the remaining choices accurately.

The IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation, developed by IAP2 International, provides a reference for considering the public's role in decisions and the promises associated with participation. Review the language in invitations and project materials against the influence the team can actually offer.

Check who could be affected

Review the participant list against the project's likely effects. For an energy, resources or infrastructure project, this may include nearby residents, landholders, businesses, community organisations, service providers and people who use affected roads or facilities. Record why each group is included and check whose interests may be missing.

Consider how people will be able to take part. Work hours, travel, language, disability and digital access can affect the suitability of a meeting or online survey. Where engagement with Aboriginal people is involved, establish the appropriate relationships and protocols for the place and the decision rather than treating a general invitation as sufficient.

Look through earlier correspondence, complaints and engagement records. They may identify unresolved questions or commitments that the new plan needs to carry forward. Record the source and current status of each commitment so the team can distinguish an agreed action from a suggestion still under consideration.

Match each activity to its purpose

For each proposed activity, write down the information the team needs and how it will use it. A briefing can explain a settled decision; a workshop can explore options; a direct conversation can help understand a particular effect. Choose the method after establishing the purpose and participants.

Check the material people will receive before taking part. It should explain the proposal, the matters open for discussion, the information available and the next decision. Identify any uncertainty plainly, including work that is still being assessed. Give participants a way to ask questions and a realistic date for a response.

Allocate the follow-up work

An activity needs someone responsible for recording what was raised, obtaining answers and keeping commitments. Confirm that these people have time in the programme and access to the staff who can make decisions.

A useful action record includes:

• the question, issue or commitment and the date it was raised;
• the activity or correspondence it came from;
• the person responsible for the next action;
• the due date and any dependency on technical or management advice;
• the agreed response and evidence that it was provided;
• the current status and any further action required.

Agree who can authorise commitments before staff meet participants. If a request exceeds that authority, the plan should make clear how it will be referred and how the person who raised it will hear the outcome. Keep personal information in the organisation’s approved systems with appropriate access.

Plan how to report back

Set out how participants will learn what was heard, what the project decided and the reasons for the decision. Where feedback changes a proposal, explain the change. Where it does not, explain the relevant constraint or judgement without suggesting that participation guaranteed agreement.

Choose measures that help the team review the work. Alongside attendance and responses, consider whether the intended participants were reached, questions were answered on time and commitments were completed. Record gaps in participation so a high response total does not conceal a group the programme failed to reach.

Record the review decision

Finish with a short record of the gaps, their consequences, the required changes and the person responsible for each change. Give the plan an owner, a version date and a review point linked to the next project stage. The person approving it should be able to see which matters have been resolved and which remain open.

If responsibility is moving between teams, use the engagement handover checklist to check the supporting records. SCA's community engagement plans service can help define the decisions, participants, methods, responsibilities and reporting arrangements within an agreed scope.