Public participation frameworkDepartment of Health and Human Services

To receive this publication in an accessible email Stakeholder Engagement <engagement@dhhs.vic.gov.au>

Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.

© State of Victoria, Department of Health and Human Services February 2018.

Where the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used it refers to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Indigenous is retained when it is part of the title of a report, program or quotation.

ISBN 978-1-76069-247-6

Available at Stakeholder engagement and participation framework and toolkit <https://dhhs.vic.gov.au/publications/stakeholder-engagement-and-public-participation-framework-and-toolkit>

Contents

Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 4

Policy context........................................................................................................................................... 5

Our definitions.......................................................................................................................................... 6Stakeholders............................................................................................................................................... 6

Stakeholder engagement............................................................................................................................ 6

Public participation...................................................................................................................................... 6

Human-centred design............................................................................................................................... 6

Co-design................................................................................................................................................... 6

Our principles of engagement.................................................................................................................7

Expectations for stakeholder engagement and public participation...................................................9Best practice approach............................................................................................................................... 9

Stakeholder engagement methodologies.............................................................................................10Supporting best practice........................................................................................................................... 10

Deciding on a stakeholder engagement methodology..............................................................................12

Human-centred design............................................................................................................................. 12

Online consultation platforms and Engage.Vic...................................................................................14Engage.Vic............................................................................................................................................... 14

When to use an online consultation platform............................................................................................14

Evaluation and continuous learning.....................................................................................................15The Centre for Evaluation and Research..................................................................................................15

Stakeholder engagement toolkit...........................................................................................................16

Inclusive stakeholder engagement support.........................................................................................17Aboriginal self-determination.................................................................................................................... 17

Engaging with culturally diverse people and communities........................................................................19

Engaging with participants with a disability...............................................................................................19

Engaging with young people..................................................................................................................... 20

Introduction

Stakeholder engagement and public participation are integral to the Department of Health and Human Services (the department) work in developing, designing, implementing and evaluating services and policies that support Victorians to be healthy, safe and able to lead a life they value.

As we drive reform across our programs and services, we must engage effectively with the sector, our clients, our workforce and the broader community. To do this, we recognise that our stakeholder engagement activities need to shift from traditional methods of ‘deliver and inform’ to ‘involve and collaborate’. Public participation enables Victorians to take part in government decision making, giving the public insight and an improved understanding of government processes and decisions.

The purpose of engagement can range from relationship development and community capacity building through to public participation to inform government decision making and policy development. This framework focuses on the latter, but recognises that the department’s work will encompass a broad range of engagement objectives.

The Victorian population is extremely diverse. Inclusive and responsive service delivery is critical to ensuring positive and equitable health and wellbeing outcomes for everyone in our community. This includes meaningful engagement, collaboration and partnerships that provide an opportunity for all Victorians to participate.

Diverse communities can experience multiple barriers to public participation and engagement. An understanding of the barriers that individual communities may experience and the enablers to their participation is essential to inclusive stakeholder engagement.

There are many examples of good stakeholder engagement practice within the department. However, our approaches and the dissemination of information and learnings are not always consistent and coordinated.

Feedback from staff has highlighted an inconsistent understanding of expectations around stakeholder engagement and public participation; uncertainty about roles and responsibilities; confusion over what is expected in engagement activities involving human-centred design and co-design; and a lack of oversight arrangements for stakeholder engagement. These issues hinder trust with our partners and the public and need to be addressed.

The purpose of this framework is to:

• set out the department’s principles of engagement, ensuring all Victorians are able to access and engage with the department

• provide a consistent understanding of expectations, roles and responsibilities of staff when engaging with stakeholders and undertaking public participation activities

• act as a consolidated reference point for staff, providing an overview of agreed stakeholder engagement and public participation policies and supports

• build stakeholder engagement competency in the department by providing information on accessing engagement training, generalist and specialist support, and resources.

This framework should be read in conjunction with the department’s Stakeholder engagement toolkit (2018), which outlines the department’s stakeholder engagement and public participation processes.

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Policy context The department recognises the value and insights that the public and our stakeholders bring to understanding problems and designing solutions. As outlined in the Department of Health and Human Services strategic plan 2017, effective stakeholder engagement and co-design are becoming core components of service design and delivery. They help us understand the interactions between people and services from a person-centred point of view, as opposed to a system-centred point of view.

Seeking knowledge via good engagement is central to achieving the department’s strategic directions, particularly person-centred care and local solutions. Good engagement creates opportunities for innovation and new ideas; it also allows us to test our assumptions about the needs of Victorians and our service delivery partners.

The Strategic plan’s enabling action 2 outlines engagement activity where the department ‘will increase co-design and engagement with patients, clients, victim survivors of family violence, clinicians, practitioners and service providers’. The department’s outcomes framework includes the system-level outcome: ‘Services are inclusive and respond to choice, culture, identity, circumstances and goals’; a key measure of this outcome is ‘increased citizen engagement in the design and delivery of services’.

The whole-of-Victorian Government’s vision for family violence and social services reforms requires designing for diversity and intersectionality at the outset. The Diversity and intersectionality framework1 outlines principles for a diverse and inclusive service system, with stakeholder engagement at the forefront of designing and implementing accessible, inclusive and non-discriminatory, responsive and empowering services.

A greater focus is also being placed on local solutions, including place-based approaches that tackle disadvantage, lift health and wellbeing outcomes of whole communities and narrow the gap in health inequities across Victoria.

For the department to achieve its stakeholder engagement goals, we need to engage differently and develop the department’s stakeholder engagement culture. To support our stakeholder engagement capabilities a number of steps have been taken to strengthen practice, support and governance, including:

• developing this Public participation framework and the Stakeholder engagement toolkit• establishing the Stakeholder Engagement team, which is responsible for leading capability building

and providing advice and support to strengthen the consistency and lift the standard of stakeholder engagement across the department

• supporting Aboriginal self-determination by launching a new Aboriginal governance and accountability framework, which will increase engagement and participation of Aboriginal people and communities

• committing to the establishment of an internal design house that will be responsible for developing the department’s capabilities in human-centred design and co-design

• ensuring this framework aligns with other departmental engagement, participation and governance frameworks.

Success will require us to shift the way we work and commit to continually improving practice, two themes that are embedded throughout this framework.

1 Victorian Government, Diversity and Intersectionality Framework, available at https://www.vic.gov.au/familyviolence/designing-for-diversity-and-intersectionality/diversity-and-intersectionality-framework.html

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Our definitionsThese definitions support a consistent understanding of what is meant by ‘engagement’ in the context of the department’s work terms.

StakeholdersStakeholders are defined as ‘an individual, organisation or group with an interest or concern in something, or are impacted by a decision or change’. As the department has wide-ranging responsibilities for health and human services portfolios, it has many stakeholders, including:

• all Victorians, at every stage of life • our portfolio ministers• local, state and federal government agencies• health and community service organisations • experts, peak bodies, advocates and industry.

Stakeholder engagementStakeholder engagement is the process by which we work and communicate with our stakeholders, both external and internal to the department. ‘Stakeholder engagement’ is a comprehensive term that covers a wide range of concepts, such as public participation, public and media relations, community consultation, education, relationship building and capacity building. It also includes all the methods we use to interact with our stakeholders, from simple communications such as emails and newsletters to the interactions that occur during more complex collaboration, such as co-design.

Public participationPublic participation is the process by which the department consults, or partners with, interested or affected individuals or groups to inform and influence government decision making. For the department, public participation also includes our funded agencies and other organisations that are affected by decisions we make.

Public participation is a two-way communication process. For the purpose of this framework, informing activity that provides an opportunity for comment is considered to be public participation. One-way informing is stakeholder engagement, not public participation.

Human-centred designHuman-centred design is an approach to problem solving that places the people impacted by change at the centre of decisions. This is done by building an understanding of the impacts of a service, or proposed changes to a service, with the people who interact with the service.

In the department, we use this approach in policy development and service design to understand issues and propose solutions by involving the people who use and provide services at the different points of a design process.

Co-designCo-design is one method of human-centred design, where new approaches to services are created with the people who use or deliver our services.

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Our principles of engagementThe department’s engagement practices are guided by best practice engagement principles and standards as outlined by the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Quality assurance standard for community and stakeholder engagement2

and the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) Public participation in government decision-making: better practice guide (2015)3.

To complement these best practice principles, the department has developed its own public participation and stakeholder engagement principles that should be used to guide and inform the planning, implementation and evaluation of engagement and public participation activities.

The department’s five principles of engagement, as summarised below, should always be applied when engaging stakeholders. When engaging with Aboriginal communities and organisations the principle of Aboriginal self-determination is to be applied4.

The department’s five principles of engagement are:

1. We are purposeful: We know why and who we are engaging

Purposeful engagement requires project planning to define the purpose of each engagement activity, the desired outcome, as well as which stakeholders will participate and their role. Communicating the purpose with stakeholders keeps engagement focused, within scope, and outcomes driven.

Purpose ensures that:

• roles are defined, building trust and helping stakeholders to understand what is expected of them and what they should expect of the department

• we are able to evaluate our engagement activities against goals, and we can incorporate learnings into future engagement.

2. We are prepared: We take into account the history and experience and we engage early

Stakeholder engagement should commence as early as possible and be informed by an understanding of the historical context and existing relationships within the department.

Effective preparation ahead of stakeholder engagement:

• minimises the risk of over-consultation, duplication of consultation and contradictory or ill-informed messaging; this is particularly important when consulting with Aboriginal communities

• maximises opportunities to consolidate engagement activities across the department• embeds the benefits of evaluating stakeholder engagement processes in the way we work,

where learnings and outcomes of previous engagement are incorporated into future stakeholder engagement activities

• recognises the history and impact of colonisation when consulting with Aboriginal communities on behalf of government.

2 IAP2 2015, Quality assurance standard for community and stakeholder engagement, <www.iap2.org.au/Tenant/C0000004/00000001/files/IAP2_Quality_Assurance_Standard_2015.pdf>3 Victorian Auditor-General’s Office 2015, Public Participation in Government Decision-making: better practice guide, Melbourne.4 Victorian Government 2017, Aboriginal governance and accountability framework, Department of Health and Human

Services, Melbourne <https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/health-strategies/aboriginal-health/governance-accountability>

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3. We are genuine: We are true to our word and put people and communities first

Genuine stakeholder engagement requires us to actively seek feedback and input and to meet commitments we make to our stakeholders. Relationships and trust are fundamental to our success in stakeholder engagement and an ongoing commitment is required to maintain, strengthen and build trust in these relationships.

Genuine stakeholder engagement:

• enables the department to place people at the centre of our policies and programs• builds trust in our relationships, which facilitates future stakeholder engagement, particularly

during times of reform• can act as a protective factor by building resilient relationships through open communication

and information sharing.4. We are inclusive: We provide opportunities and support to enable participation

Inclusive stakeholder engagement values the experiences and opinions of all stakeholders, including clients and service users, and makes engagement accessible to all. This ensures that the diverse voices of all Victorians are heard, including those harder-to-reach or traditionally excluded, and addresses the risks associated with an over-reliance on a small number of stakeholders.

Inclusive engagement leads to:

• consultation and engagement activities that are inclusive and accessible• departmental decision making that is better informed• greater agreement and understanding from all stakeholders• better programs, policies and services.

5. We communicate: We provide regular updates and complete the feedback loop

To build trust and acknowledge stakeholder contributions, communication should occur throughout stakeholder engagement processes to keep stakeholders updated and informed. This includes providing feedback on how stakeholder input was used in policy or system design. This applies to internal as well as external stakeholders.

Communication allows us to:

• build trust and open and genuine relationships with stakeholders• get stakeholder buy-in, encouraging shared ownership projects• ensure we are accountable to our stakeholders, including community• share our learnings and ensure that the department and stakeholders have all the information

required to make informed decisions.

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Expectations for stakeholder engagement and public participation

Good engagement is everyone’s responsibility. To create a culture that supports good, meaningful and consistent public participation and engagement, it is vital that individuals, teams and leaders play an active role in ensuring they deliver high quality engagement activities.

Best practice approachThe VAGO’s Public participation in government decision-making: better practice guide outlines the elements used to audit the efficiency and effectiveness of public participation activities and provides the basis for evaluation of engagement activities for the department.

These elements reflect a best practice approach and we are required to demonstrate and prove how we meet them in our stakeholder engagement and public participation activities.

The six elements are:

1. Clearly define the decisions required and the scope of the public participation exercise

2. Understand who is affected and how they should be included

3. Identify the resources, skills and time required for effective public participation

4. Document the public participation and management approach

5. Implement the public participation plan and monitor its progress

6. Evaluate the public participation exercise and apply continuous improvement

We recognise that many areas of the department consistently meet these six elements in their stakeholder engagement and public participation activities. To achieve the department’s engagement goals and improve policy and service development, we need to make a conscious effort to uplift stakeholder engagement and public participation practice more broadly.

Stakeholder engagement and public participation activities should be informed by this framework; the VAGO’s better practice guide; the department’s Stakeholder engagement toolkit; and any department policies relevant to your program area. Engaging with Aboriginal stakeholders, including Aboriginal organisations and communities, requires adherence to the department’s Aboriginal governance and accountability framework in the first instance. This also applies to engaging with mainstream organisations that service Aboriginal clients.

Together these documents set out the department’s expectations for staff undertaking stakeholder engagement. When followed, they will strengthen engagement practice and meet the VAGO’s better practice elements.

You may also wish to consult the IAP2’s Quality assurance standard for community and stakeholder engagement, which represents IAP2’s International Standard for Public Participation practice.

For more information on Stakeholder engagement and public participation support for staff email Stakeholder Engagement <engagement@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

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Stakeholder engagement methodologies

Effective engagement requires that we tailor the level and style of engagement to achieve the best result for end users. This section provides information on engagement methodologies used within the department.

We recognise that individuals and program areas may draw upon a range of tools and methodologies, often in conjunction with IAP2’s public participation spectrum, to ensure their engagement activities are fit for purpose and meet community needs. This is particularly relevant where the stakeholder engagement focus is on community education, relationship building and capacity building.

Supporting best practice

IAP2 public participation spectrum The department’s Executive Board endorsed the IAP2 public participation spectrum (see Figure 1) to inform the department’s planning and processes for stakeholder engagement and public participation.

The spectrum helps define the public’s five potential roles in any participation process: inform, consult, involve, collaborate and empower. For the purpose of this framework, informing activity that provides an opportunity for comment is considered public participation; one-way informing is stakeholder engagement.

Importantly, the IAP2 spectrum provides transparency for the commitments made to participants in each engagement level. Staff are encouraged to consult the spectrum to decide which level of engagement is most suitable for their project.

The department is a corporate member of IAP2, which gives staff access to the full membership benefits, including discounts for training, local and national events and full access to IAP2 Australasia online best practice tools. To request access to the IAP2 membership, email Stakeholder Engagement <engagement@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

Additional guidance is provided in the department’s Stakeholder engagement toolkit.

Public participation in government decision-making: better practice guideTo support public sector agencies, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office published a better practice guide <https://www.audit.vic.gov.au/public-participation-government-decision-making-better-practice-guide>.

The guide provides a high-level framework for departmental agencies to assist in deciding how best to involve the public. All department staff are encouraged to consult the guide when planning public participation activities.

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Figure 1 IAP2 public participation spectrum

(Adapted from the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Spectrum (2014)(c) International Association for Public Participation <www.iap2.org>)

Inform Consult Involve Collaborate Empower

Publ

ic p

artic

ipat

ion

To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problem, alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions

To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions.

To work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered.

To partner with the public in each aspect of the decision including the development of alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution.

To place final decision making in the hands of the public.

Prom

ise

to th

e pu

blic

We will keep you informed.

We will keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge concerns and aspirations, and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision.

We will work with you to ensure that your concerns and aspirations are directly reflected in the alternatives developed and provide feedback on how public input influenced the decision.

We will look to you for advice and innovation in formulating solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

We will implement what you decide.

Met

hod

exam

ples

• Media releases

• Info websites

• Corporate documents

• Speeches, symposiums, presentations

• Fact sheets

• Posters

• Brochures

• Letter

• Video

• Surveys

• Focus groups

• Public meetings and workshops

• Online feedback and discussion

• Multi-stakeholder forums

• Advisory panels

• Workshops

• Consultative committees

• Multi-stakeholder initiatives

• Partnerships

• Reference groups

• Integration of stakeholders into governance

• Citizen juries

Co-design activities lie here on the spectrum depending on which aspects of a process are co-designed, but co-design activities are distinct from traditional engagement due to the design element.

You can view IAP2's Public Participation Spectrum <https://www.iap2.org.au/About-Us/About-IAP2-Australasia-/Spectrum> and more information on public participation approaches and methodologies on their website.

Public participation framework: Department of Health and Human Services Page 11

Increasing impact on the decision

Deciding on a stakeholder engagement methodology Effective engagement requires that we tailor the level and style of engagement to achieve the best result for end users. No one form of stakeholder engagement or public participation should be used exclusively, rather it should be considered based on the effectiveness, applicability and appropriateness for the project and the group being engaged. When deciding which engagement methodology is best suited to your project, you may wish to consult with:

• IAP2 public participation spectrum (see pages 10-11 of this framework)• Stakeholder engagement toolkit <https://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/stakeholder-engagement>, which

provides guidance on clarifying the purpose of stakeholder engagement activities and identifying stakeholders, and contains a decision matrix for the IAP2 public participation spectrum

• VAGO better practice guide <www.audit.vic.gov.au/public-participation-government-decision-making-better-practice-guide>

• decision flowchart to assess the suitability of co-design for your project (see page 13 of this framework)

• Stakeholder Engagement team, contact by email <engagement@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

Human-centred designHuman-centred design is defined as an approach to problem solving that places the people impacted by change at the centre of any decisions. This is done by building an understanding of the impacts of a service, or proposed changes to a service, with the people who interact with the service.

The department’s strategic plan describes the value of incorporating human-centred design and co-design approaches into the work we do.

Co-design Co-design is one method of human-centred design. It is ‘the process of creating new approaches to services with the people who use or deliver our services’5. The department can better understand the needs, expectations and behaviours of users, service providers and those who implement our policies by involving them in the process.

Input from service users and sector partners through a co-design process offers a range of benefits to the department, service users and service providers.

These include:

• designing service and policy solutions that better meet the needs of service providers and users• eliminating investment in irrelevant solutions• reducing cost to launch through early and rapid prototyping• improving returns and reducing likelihood of policy failure• creating new opportunities by identifying unmet needs for service providers and users.

5 Definition approved by the DHHS Executive Board in March 2016.

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Co-design involves:

• exploring problems with service users and service providers to determine what they need, expect and want

• developing proposed solutions in collaboration with service users and providers that meet the users’ goals and the service providers’ business requirements, within constraints

• building a solution ready for implementation and planning for testing and ongoing refinements• testing the solution to check it meets its aims - pre-implementation testing can mean involving

other services users, service implementers, policy developers and decision-makers to test the robustness of the solution; post-implementation testing can mean evaluation of the service or policy impacts with stakeholders

• evaluating and continuously improving as soon as the change or pilot has been initiated.

In practice, co-design processes require project teams to find a balance between being realistic and providing an environment that is conducive to innovation and proposing novel solutions to challenging problems. To achieve the best outcomes in co-design processes, service, budget and other resourcing constraints need be considered and communicated to ensure that the solutions developed are implementable.

Figure 2 is a decision flowchart6 that can assist with the assessment of a project’s suitability for the use of co-design.

Figure 2 Decision flowchart to assess if co-design is a suitable engagement approach for a project

Although co-design does not formally sit within the IAP2 spectrum, it can be said to sit across the involve, collaborate and empower spectrum levels. Not all engagement is co-design, but you cannot successfully co-design without engagement.

For further advice and resources on co-design, contact the Stakeholder Engagement team by email <engagement@dhhs.vic.gov.au>..

6 Adapted from, What is co-design? An introduction to co-design for the Victorian Public Sector, Department of Health and Human Services and Peer Academy (2016)

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Online consultation platforms and Engage.Vic Online consultation platforms are a useful tool to encourage active community participation and open discussion, and they can be used as the primary form of engagement or to support face-to-face engagement processes. They are often suited to consultations that are complex and involve a number of stages. Online consultations can be used to:

• collaboratively design policies and programs• request feedback on initiatives or activities• gather comments on proposed changes• test new ideas with your target audience.

The decision to use an online consultation platform should be informed by an understanding of your stakeholders, engagement purpose and engagement objectives. Other online tools that can be used to support engagement may include email, social media, yammer or online forms and surveys.

Engage.VicVictorian government departments and agencies can use the Engage.Vic platform <https://engage.vic.gov.au/> to run public consultations. The platform includes the following tools:

• online forums • idea generation tools • simple polls and surveys• visual timelines • photo and video galleries.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet manages the whole-of-Victorian Government platform. The department’s Digital Engagement and Strategy team is the first point of contact and is available to provide advice and assistance for program areas wanting to use Engage.Vic.

The principles, planning guidelines, consultation strategy templates and additional information to support online consultation planning are available on the department’s intranet at <https://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/online-consultations>.

When to use an online consultation platformBefore starting an online consultation process, consider your topic and audience, including how suitable and accessible an online consultation is for your project. Key questions when deciding if online consultation is suitable for your engagement include:

• Do the tools suit your audience? Would face-to-face, email, social media posts or a survey be more suitable?

• Would your project benefit from using a variety of ways of gathering feedback and ideas?• Does your team have the capacity to provide progress updates to demonstrate that input received

has been considered?• Does your team have the time and resources to manage the community, moderate submissions

and keep conversations on topic?• Is the subject matter suitable for contributions to be visible and commented upon by others?It is important to recognise that stakeholders have diverse capacities, skills and resources. Good stakeholder engagement requires an understanding of this and accommodates the differences. If used in isolation to any other engagement method, online consultation platforms may not be an appropriate and inclusive method of engagement.

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Evaluation and continuous learningEvaluation is an enabler of continuous improvement and assists in promoting the efficient use of departmental resources. In the department, our internal evaluations form an evidence base to help identify effective and fit-for-purpose engagement practices.

Business-as-usual or transactional engagement activities require project management and monitoring, however reform engagement or project-specific engagement processes may be more suited to a structured evaluation process.

The role of evaluation in engagement and public participation is twofold:

1. To continually improve our efforts in engagement by building a knowledge depository of prior experience.

2. To test the assumptions of the effectiveness of our engagement activities.

The department’s commitment to a strong evaluation culture is outlined in the Evaluation policy , August 2017 <https://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/evaluation-and-research-support>.

The department can be subject to external evaluation of our engagement and public participation activities. External evaluation ensures our accountability, provides transparency and provides advice on how we can improve. The primary source of external evaluation for the department is the VAGO and the elements used to audit the department are outlined on page 9 of this framework.

The Centre for Evaluation and ResearchThe Centre for Evaluation and Research was established to provide support, advice and resources to the department’s staff to build a strong evaluation culture. These resources could be used by program areas to inform and guide the evaluation of their stakeholder engagement activities.

The resources include:

• an evaluation guide • tools and templates • support and advice – ad hoc support and advice to department staff• knowledge bank - a central internal repository for all evaluation and research reports• Evaluation Preferred Provider Panel.

For more information, see the evaluation and research support intranet page <https://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/evaluation-and-research-support> or contact the Centre for Evaluation and Research by email <CER@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

The Stakeholder Engagement team is also available to provide general advice and support for the evaluation and monitoring of engagement activities, email <engagement@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

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Stakeholder engagement toolkitThe Stakeholder engagement toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to developing and implementing a successful stakeholder engagement plan. For each step in the process, a template is included to support users in developing their plan.

The toolkit aims to:

• support consistent stakeholder engagement practice across the department• build staff capability and skills in stakeholder engagement• provide practical tools to support effective and appropriate engagement.

The toolkit was developed in line with the VAGO’s better practice guide, and is informed by the findings of VAGO’S Public participation in government decision-making audit report.

The Stakeholder engagement toolkit provides a detailed explanation of our engagement process, which follows seven steps:

1. Purpose

2. Stakeholder identification

3. Level of participation

4. Develop engagement plan

5. Implement and monitor engagement

6. Feedback to participants

7. Evaluation

It is important to document all of these process steps. Templates are available in the toolkit.

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Inclusive stakeholder engagement support

The department engages with a diverse range of people, groups, experts and organisations. Due to the diversity of our stakeholder groups, there are considerations we need to be aware of to be more inclusive, responsive and accessible in our approach to stakeholder engagement.

The diversity of the Victorian population should be used as the foundation for informing engagement approaches. Failure to acknowledge and respond to this diversity, including intersectionality, in inclusive ways can lead to services or programs that do not meet needs at best, and are discriminatory at worst.

Inclusive stakeholder engagement also recognises the diversity within each community and that different characteristics – such as sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity and culture, religion, language, age, disability, mental health, socioeconomic status, social isolation and geographic location – can create overlapping forms of disadvantage and further exacerbate barriers to public participation and engagement.

Inclusive stakeholder engagement practices allow us to create opportunities to hear and better understand our varied stakeholder needs. The department’s principles of engagement, particularly principle four, ‘We are inclusive’, needs to be applied throughout stakeholder engagement processes to ensure that everyone is given opportunities and is supported to participate.

Information, policies and contact details for specific advice and support are provided below.

Aboriginal self-determinationConsistent with the government’s commitment, Korin Korin Balit-Djak adopts a new approach by embedding Aboriginal self-determination as the core principle to improve outcomes in Aboriginal people’s health, wellbeing and safety. During consultations, Victorian Aboriginal communities emphasised that it is the role of community, not government, to define what self-determination means for Aboriginal Victorians. Adhering to the principle of self-determination, in Associate Professor Gregory Phillips words, this means that:

rather than Aboriginal people merely being ‘engaged’ or ‘consulted’ as ‘advisors’ or ‘co-designers’ of services and policies, they are authorised and empowered to own, direct and make strategic decisions about the following:

• values and motivations on which a policy or program is based• strategic intent• policy or program design• funding and allocation of resources• implementation and operations• evaluation measures and definitions of success.7

Feedback gathered through consultation on the development of Korin Korin Balit-Djak8, the government’s new Aboriginal health, wellbeing and safety strategic plan 2017–2027, confirmed that

7 Phillips, G, 2017, Self-determination and treaty – a new policy framework, Korin Korin Balit-Djak, Department of Health and Human Services, Victorian Government, Melbourne.8 Victorian Government 2017, Korin Korin Balit-Djak Aboriginal health, wellbeing and safety strategic plan 2017–2027, Department of Health and Human Services, Melbourne.

<https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/health-strategies/aboriginal-health/korin-korin-balit-djak>

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Aboriginal Victorians, organisations and the funded sector do not think that Aboriginal people’s health, wellbeing and safety outcomes will be improved without a self-determined approach.

These views are supported by international evidence that self-determination is essential to improving outcomes for Indigenous peoples. Importantly, self-determination is a human right, as described in article one of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in article one of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The department’s Aboriginal governance and accountability framework aims to:

• embed Aboriginal leadership and decision making at all levels of government• strengthen accountability and transparency to Aboriginal communities• engage and promote the diversity of Aboriginal voices – particularly from local communities.

The Aboriginal governance and accountability framework includes six core principles that inform good practice in engaging and partnering with Aboriginal leaders, communities and organisations:

Principle 1 – The impact of past and ongoing trauma experienced by Victorian Aboriginal communities is acknowledged.

Principle 2 – The diversity, context and capacity of Victorian Aboriginal communities is understood and that partnership and engagement practices reflect diverse and multiple Aboriginal voices.

Principle 3 – Partnerships and engagement with Victorian Aboriginal communities are characterised by high levels of cultural safety, whereby engagement is culturally appropriate and respectful.

Principle 4 – Partnerships that are mutually beneficial, where knowledge and expertise are shared in ways that benefit Aboriginal people and the department.

Principle 5 – Capacity building through partnerships that support participatory governance and a willingness to share power.

Principle 6 – Victorian Aboriginal people lead the monitoring and evaluation processes accompanying the framework.

These six principles are designed to:

• give Victorian Aboriginal people and communities a legitimate place in the decision-making process

• ensure trusting relationships and partnerships can be built• ensure engagement is culturally sensitive and enables a ‘people to people’ process• develop an ongoing process of accountability to and from Victorian Aboriginal communities• ensure departmental staff are aware of Aboriginal culture and community dynamics.

You can find Korin Korin Balit-Djak <https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/health-strategies/aboriginal-health/korin-korin-balit-djak> and the Aboriginal governance and accountability framework <https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/health-strategies/aboriginal-health/governance-accountability> on the Department of Health website.

Contact Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing branch for further advice on Aboriginal self-determination and engaging with Aboriginal people and communities. Email Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing <Aboriginalhealthandwellbeing@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

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Engaging with culturally diverse people and communities Victoria is home to one of the most culturally diverse populations in Australia, with more than a quarter of the state’s citizens born overseas, three-quarters of whom come from non–English speaking countries. The department is committed to providing culturally responsive, competent and accessible programs, policies and services. This requires sensitivity to the ways in which cultural diversity affects need, help-seeking behaviour and the experience of individuals and families as they journey through our service system.

The department has developed Delivering for diversity: cultural diversity plan 2016–2019 as a framework to embed cultural diversity in all of its services, programs and policies. The plan outlines our priorities and key actions for responding to cultural diversity across the range of departmental services. Victorian. And proud of it, Victoria’s multicultural policy statement 2017 outlines the Victorian Government’s commitment to multiculturalism and summarises the initiatives the government is taking in this area, including those being led by the department.

Inclusive stakeholder engagement requires an understanding of the potential barriers and enablers around participation for people from culturally diverse backgrounds – for example, cultural responsiveness and effective communication, including the appropriate use of interpreters and translated material.

The department’s Language services policy (2017) <https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/publications/language-services-policy> supports department staff and funded organisations in the planning and provision of language services for migrants, refugees and people seeking asylum, and for those who use sign language.

To receive a copy of the cultural diversity plan, or for more information on cultural diversity and the department, contact Diversity <diversity@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

Engaging with participants with a disabilityThe department’s vision is for an inclusive Victoria that supports people with a disability to live satisfying everyday lives. Key principles for effective engagement and communication with people with a disability include the following:

• Plan your engagement: consider accessibility in planning your communication and engagement including the provision, availability and budgeting of accessible formats and access supports such as Auslan interpreters.

• Use clear and appropriate language: always put the person first not the disability and use plain English. At times this needs to include information in Easy English (using pictures and short sentences).

• Publicise through relevant websites, social media and networks: identify essential messages or information your audience needs to know and ensure these are available in accessible formats.

• Provide accessible events and venues: consider accessibility when hosting events. Your event venue must be fully accessible and close to public transport.

• Use an accessibility tag on invites and publications: this provides standard and consistent wording to inform people with a disability that accessible formats, support and aids are available upon request.

The Victorian Government accessible communication guidelines 2014 <www.dpc.vic.gov.au/images/documents/Communication/Accessible_Communications_Guidelines.docx> provide information and contacts for organisations that can provide further assistance.

If you have questions after reading the guidelines or contacting organisations, contact the Office for Disability, telephone 1300 880 043 or email Office for Disability <ofd@dhhs.vic.gov.au>.

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There’s information about accessibility and a range of tools and resources on the intranet Accessibility <http://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/accessibility> page, including how to make web content accessible and how to use our Word templates to create accessible documents.

The Event process <http://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/event-process> page has tips to help you make sure everyone can access the venue, has the support they need and can understand the speakers and other information – including the invitation, presentations and handouts.

The writing style guide <http://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/writing-guides> includes tips to help you unclutter content, use plain English and write for our audiences.

There’s also regular training covering accessibility and how to use our Word templates. See Training courses <http://intranet.dhhs.vic.gov.au/working-at-dhhs/about-you/training>.

Engaging with young people Young people play an important role in our state. They are passionate advocates for issues, are at the forefront of progressive thinking and policy making, and are a broad cohort that is impacted by all of the issues faced by the department and government.

For this reason it is important to engage with young people as experts in their own experiences when developing services, policies and programs, and to ensure that this engagement is meaningful and undertaken in a way that plays to young people’s strengths and needs.

The Victorian Government’s Youth policy: building stronger youth engagement in Victoria (2016) includes a Youth Engagement Charter outlining the principles for working with young people. This charter should be followed.

Contact the Office for Youth <youth@dhhs.vic.gov.au> for further advice on engaging young people aged 12–25, working with youth peak bodies and organisations, and practical considerations that need to be addressed when working with young people, such as consent and travel.

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