Council seeks local input to enhance Participate Melbourne

The City of Melbourne is looking to improve its online community feedback process – a decision welcomed by community leaders. However, some are calling for the entire consultation process to be streamlined and enhanced.

The council uses its digital platform, Participate Melbourne, alongside in-person activities, to collect community feedback, which is then used to inform its policies, initiatives, and projects.

President of CBD residents’ group EastEnders, Dr Stan Capp, believes the consultation and engagement process is comprehensive overall. However, he notes there are ways it could be streamlined.

One of the main criticisms Dr Capp has encountered is that many community members find it difficult to access the results of the surveys conducted via Participate Melbourne.

He also noted that the consultation process could be made more comprehensive, suggesting that more “targeted” and “scientifically” valid methodologies would be a preferred approach.

Dr Capp believes a combination of focus groups, targeted surveys, and people’s panels provides a range of opportunities for generating a strong dataset to inform council decisions.

Southbank Residents’ Association president Tony Penna also expressed support for the council’s decision to improve Participate Melbourne. However, he believes the entire consultation process needs to be improved.

Mr Penna drew attention to the consultation for the expansion of the Miles and Dodds Reserve in Southbank, which was recently approved by the council following three phases of community consultation.

He said the lengthy process was “avoidable” if all relevant stakeholders had been engaged from the beginning of the consultation, both directly and through Participate Melbourne.

The City of Melbourne recently initiated an online survey inviting feedback as to how it could improve Participate Melbourne, which closed on June 22.

A City of Melbourne spokesperson told CBD News, “We’re always looking for ways to listen to a wide range of stakeholders and respond to the community’s needs.”

“To ensure our services are effective, we regularly review how they’re performing.”

“That’s why we recently asked for feedback on our Participate Melbourne platform – to find out how we can make it easier and better for people to use.” •