Participation level:
- Low (Information only)
Innovation level:
- Low (Traditional)
Facilitator skill level, and other support required:
- Medium (Computer & other expertise)
Can be used for:
- Showcase product, plan, policy
- Communicate an issue
Public meetings are held to engage a wide audience in information sharing and discussion.
Public meetings increase awareness of an issue or proposal, and can be a starting point for, or an ongoing means of, engaging further public involvement.
- Allows the involvement and input of a wide range of people.
- Can develop consensus for action on complex issues that affect the broad community.
- Disseminates detailed information and decisions throughout the community.
- Provides opportunities for exploring alternative strategies and building consensus.
- Unless well facilitated, those perceived as having power within the community, or those who are most articulate and domineering in their verbal style can dominate the meeting.
- Participants may not come from a broad enough range to represent the entire community.
- Organisers must be aware of potential conflicts.
- Community members may not be willing to work together.
- May not achieve consensus.
- Can be time and labour intensive.
Organizing Public Meeting
How many people to organize?
- Medium (2-12 people)
Time required:
- Medium (6 weeks-6 months)
- Short (< 6 weeks)
Cost:
- Medium (AUD$1,000-AUD$10,000)
- Low (< AUD$1,000)
- Establish why you need to consult the community; do not hold a public meeting or consult unnecessarily; this wastes people's time, and may create disinterest for the future.
- Consider the circumstances of the community and the issues.
- Schedule a series of meetings. A suggested series follows:
- Introduce project and key personnel
- Supply project information
- Allow the community to ask questions and identify issues of concern
- Provide contact pointsIdentify groups with specific concerns for targeted consultation
- Break between meetings allows participants to consider views and concerns
- Reintroduce project
- Activate good listening skills
- Clarification and expansion of issues
- Information and feedback on how issues and concerns are being met
- Presentation at the conclusion of a project or make recommendations for the community's consideration
- Discuss ongoing participation in the process
- Publicise and advertise the meeting
- Advertise weekly in local media
- Book a venue and arrange catering with flexibility as to numbers as attendance is difficult to predict
- Venue should be neutral territory
- Provide no alcohol.
- Provide refreshments at the conclusion of the meeting
- Timing: Conduct the meeting at a time where the largest number of participants can attend
- Inform participants of Chairperson, Facilitator, Guest speakers
- Work closely with the chair
- General format is presentation followed by question time
- Present agenda
- Field questions
- Record comments
Considerations
- Widely advise the ways feedback from the community is being incorporated into the projectAvoid allowing the meeting to be taken over by a vocal community
- Be prepared to change tack during the meeting
- Cater for people with disabilities or from non-english speaking backgrounds
- Never lose your temper
- Set up early (Source: Sarkissian, W et al, 1999 & Ontario Guide to Public Participation)
References
Description
A Public Meeting is a coming together of people for a specific purpose. The meeting can involve a large number of people, or a smaller number of people (under 10) who focus on a specific problem or purpose. Public meetings generally have a facilitator who encourages two-way communication, and a recorder who records suggestions and issues that are revealed at the meeting.
Public meetings provide a good focal point for media interest in an event, and photos can provide a visual indicator or levels of interest and the range of people who attended. Public meetings are often the springboard for a movement or for the establishment of a common-interest group which will continue to act on the issues raised and suggestions made.
Public meetings are familiar, established ways for people to come together to express their opinions, hear a public speaker, or plan a strategy. They can build a feeling of community and attendance levels provide an indicator of the level of interest within a community on a particular issue.
Smaller focus group meetings can be made up of people with common concerns who may not feel confident speaking up in a larger public gathering (for example, women, those who speak English as a second language, Indigenous groups). In a separate venue, these people can speak comfortably together, share common issues and a common purpose. The findings from focus group meetings can be presented to larger group meetings, giving a 'voice' to those in the community who are unable to speak up in a larger meeting. (See also Focus Group) FAO Informal Working Group on Participatory Approaches & Methods (http://www.fao.org/Participation/ft_more.jsp?ID=640)
This page originally copied with permission from the Citizens Science Toolbox
