Representative Community Panel update

The following information was posted on this page in December 2023:

That's a wrap for 2023!

Members of Kingson's Representative Community Panel (RCP) have been busy this year, sharing their thoughts and providing recommendations and suggestions on a wide range of topics in Kingston.

We invited the wider RCP to participate in a series of quick polls that helped shape and inform several projects, including:

• Play and active recreation
• The new aquatic and leisure centre facility
• Our new waste app 'Binston'
• Soft plastics recycling

We also called on several members of the RCP to participate in various workshops for AccessCare, Open Space and the Victorian Government's Level Crossing Removal Projects.

Additionally, the Collaborative Engagement Group (CEG) met up with Councillors, members of Council's Executive Leadership Team and the Manager of Advocacy, Communications and Engagement to work through and take a deep dive into our draft 'Play Your Way' strategy and provide suggestions and recommendations for our upcoming carbon emissions policy. Here's a recap!

We look forward to working with the RCP and CEG in 2024 - and will keep you updated on their progress as they work through some new and exciting projects in the new year.

Background

Following an extensive recruitment campaign at the beginning of 2023, we were delighted to have Kingston's Representative Community Panel (RCP) available and ready to provide feedback about projects/strategies we've been working on.

The RCP comprises 220 community members, forming a statistically representative group across our eleven wards - recruited by consultant Sortition Foundation.

The recruitment process also involved sign-ups for the deliberative engagement arm of the RCP, a Collaborative Engagement Group (CEG), who committed to meet six times a year over the next two years to discuss and share their feedback on complex local issues and key strategic plans.

The following post was published in early April 2023:

Over the last two months we invited you to put in your expressions of interest to participate in a 220-member Representative Community Panel, to provide us with key insights and feedback about the issues and needs impacting different community members and businesses.

The recruitment also involved sign-ups for the deliberative engagement arm of the panel, a Collaborative Engagement Group, who’ll meet up to six times a year over the next two years to discuss and share their feedback on complex local issues and key strategic plans.

Expressions of Interest closed on Monday 27 March and we are thrilled that 617 of you sign up to participate.

We hired independent consultants Sortition Foundation to recruit a panel that is as representative as possible of the demographics of our community considering information like:

• Ages
• Genders
• Geographic locations
• Cultural heritage
• Education
• Whether they’re a resident/business operator
• And more

In the next week or two both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified about the outcome by Sortition Foundation. Council will then follow up with the successful applicants to let them know what’s next.

If you were unsuccessful, please note that the recruitment decision was only based on efforts to recreate a statistical representation of our community. There are many ways to get involved in community consultations and we are often looking for members to participate in panels. Please register to receive updates on this website or send an email to yoursay@kingston.vic.gov.au