About The City of Port Adelaide Enfield
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield (PAE) serves as an excellent example of promoting inclusive engagement for all community members. Acknowledging the diverse needs of its residents, the City has consistently provided multiple engagement methods, including an online platform available in ten languages, hard copy feedback options, and various online tools for easy access.
The Goal
Beyond digital solutions, the City has also prioritized outreach by actively engaging directly with schools, cultural groups, and community organizations in-person. By meeting people where they are, the City successfully broadened its reach. By leveraging the expertise of its community engagement and development teams and utilizing existing relationships, Port Adelaide Enfield ensures that diverse voices were heard and actively involved in shaping the community’s future.
Melissa Clarke, Community Engagement Officer for Port Adelaide Enfield, emphasized the importance of ensuring that everyone in the community is involved in the City’s initiatives.
“For us, it’s really important that we hear from members right across our community, no matter their age, their cultural background, their abilities, their interests. We want to hear from everyone. And everyone in our community has the right to be involved in discussions that affect their everyday lives and that are important to them.”
The Approach
Port Adelaide Enfield’s ‘Shaping Inclusion‘ initiative is a standout success in fostering inclusive engagement. Over a 12-month period, the City launched a private online space on its Participate PAE platform, specifically designed for community members with lived experience of disability. This initiative aimed to give people with disabilities, or those supporting someone with a disability, a voice in helping to shape the community’s future. Participants were invited to register, providing valuable insights into barriers preventing residents from living an inclusive lifestyle—whether those barriers were physical, like accessible parking and curb ramps, or informational, such as event access.
The Result
The City worked with key staff and community members to identify improvements and implement solutions, offering inclusive online and offline engagement methods. Using Social Pinpoint’s tools, residents could interact through the Q&A tool for public project questions, the Forum for dynamic discussions, the Gather tool for sharing community stories, and the Social Map for highlighting infrastructure needs like curb ramps and accessible parking.
The City also held workshops and feedback sessions in a hybrid format, combining in-person and virtual participation to ensure everyone could engage. This collaborative effort resulted in actionable changes that improved access and inclusion across the City, showcasing the power of community-driven initiatives. This multi-faceted approach ensured that diverse community voices were heard and effectively incorporated into city planning and improvements.
Melissa emphasized the importance of engaging community members through various channels to ensure that all groups are actively involved.
