Communicating with You - 2019

Update 17 December 2019

Last month we invited feedback on City communications and engagement. We were keen to gauge community satisfaction levels, find out what you’re interested in hearing more about and how you would like to participate in future consultation initiatives.

We received 284 responses to our survey. Overall you told us that we’re providing you with interesting and balanced information in a timely manner. It was a B score card for City communication and engagement – pretty good, but with room for improvement!

On Wednesday December 4 a presentation was made to Council on the survey findings. This presentation is available for you to view in the library section along with the full consultation report.

The information below provides a summary of key findings.

• Areas for improvement included better listening, improving the website, more face to face engagement with Council and acknowledging community feedback.
• The Bay to Bay newsletter trumped all other information sources in terms of popularity. You told us that you would like to see more updates on major projects, a stronger community focus, information on long-term planning and articles specific to town sites.
• Many respondents felt the website was too large and the search engine functionality could be improved.
• More than 60% of respondents had participated in a recent City consultation initiative and most found the Your Say Busselton site user friendly.
• Some of the feedback received regarding consultation included:
  • Explain WHY decisions are made (not just WHAT decisions have been made);
  • Consult earlier - especially on major projects;
  • Provide opportunities for face-to-face contact with Council; and
  • consider hosting open blank community forums (for free idea sharing).

A community engagement Councillor workshop was held in early December to view the outcomes of the survey and discuss ideas for improvement. Councillor input from this workshop, along with the survey results and further consultation, will inform the development of a Community Engagement Strategy for the City of Busselton. Such a strategy will provide the City and the community with overarching policy direction on community engagement and guidance on practices and tools for engagement.

The City has already embarked on a website design and content project which will significantly improve the look and functionality of the City's main website and associated microsites (e.g. the GLC / NCC site and library sites). This is a three year project commencing early next year.

Have Your Say about the way we communicate with the local community.

In a changing world with constantly evolving technology, the City of Busselton seeks to communicate with our community in the most effective way. Our goals are simple:

• we want to improve how we communicate;
• we want to ensure we’re providing you with the information you need and want; and
• we want to maximise opportunities for community engagement.

We’re also keen to better understand how you hear about what is happening in the City of Busselton. This will help us identify ways to improve communication and ensure we are providing consistent, useful and interesting information.

By participating in this survey you will also go into a lucky draw to WIN a $200 Shop Local Voucher. You can access this survey in a number of ways:

1. Complete our online survey through Your Say Busselton
2. Complete a hard copy version of the survey available at the following City of Busselton facilities:
   • Busselton Library
   • Dunsborough Library
   • City of Busselton Civic and Administration Centre