There are a range of supports available, including:
Consultation and Engagement toolkit (argyll-bute.gov.uk) This includes advice and a step by step process for carrying out consultations.
Community Engagement – My Council Works this shows consultation and engagement which has been carried or is planned and allows for more co-ordination and sharing information and findings.
Advice and Support from the Community Development Team (communitydevelopment@argyll-bute.gov.uk)
Online resources and training at: Community Development
A community development approach brings:
- skills in facilitation for meetings and discussions, reaching out to non-digital residents and lesser heard voices
- enhances communication between communities or community organisations and council services, senior council officers, elected members and partners who can work together.
- can be invaluable in ensuring a wide reaching and inclusive engagement process.
- develops networks, contacts and relationship building, developing rapport and facilitating further opportunities to engage, if required.
- support community groups with governance, training, accessing funding and developing plans, such as community led action plans and locality place plans.
- A community led action planning toolkit has been developed Community-led Action Planning Argyll & Bute
The Community Engagement Strategy Group brings together officers across the Council who are involved in consultation and engagement and sharing information and examples of practice. (contact Suzanne.Mason@argyll-bute.gov.uk)
Training for staff in community engagement is available to increase awareness and skills across council services. LEON
The VOiCE (Visioning Outcomes in Community Engagement) tool is an innovative IT based tool which provides support to community engagement activity, with
- Planning community engagement and service user participation
- Monitoring and recording the process
- Evaluating the process against the National Standards for Community Engagement (Scotland) and principles for good quality engagement (elsewhere).
VOiCE is published by the Scottish Government as part of its support for implementation of the National Standards for Community Engagement.
Scottish Approach to Service Design, further information can be found here The Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD). The vision for this is that the people of Scotland are supported and empowered to actively participate in the definition, design and delivery of their public services (from policy making to service improvement).
- The approach is a way of exploring the problem space openly, collaboratively and with users, before a solution or service is decided.
- Inspired by the Scottish Approach to Service Design, the council has adopted a Service Design-led approach to improvement activities, further information on the Council’s approach can be found here: Service Design
There are links and parallels between approaches to engagement adopted by partners, such as Argyll and Bute HSCP Engagement Framework