Addressing the unintended consequences of online engagement

As Victorians hunker down under necessary COVID-19 restrictions and the rest of the country keeps an eye out for what may be on the horizon for them, it looks like engagement processes delivered online without any face-to-face activities are here to stay.

Online engagement isย anย important wayย to ensureย affected communities continue to haveย the opportunityย to provide feedbackย onย the projects and decisions that will impact them, and thatย meaningfulย community conversations arenโ€™t put on hold.ย ย 

Itโ€™sย aย really powerfulย mechanismย to keep community engagement processes moving, attract participation and collect community feedback that informs decision-making when we canโ€™t meet face-to-face.ย 

The opportunities and challenges of digital engagement

Despite its efficacy duringย COVID-19ย lockdowns andย physical distancing, there are some significant issues that need to be actively addressed for online engagementย toย deliverย the benefitsย andย opportunitiesย we need and expect.ย ย 

Some of these issuesย are well publicised and understood. Theyย relate to equity of access.ย Not allย community membersย areย connected to the internet (due toย financial constraints/cost impacts)ย andย some regional communitiesย haveย poor and/or unreliable connections.ย Other barriersย to access can includeย language, disability, orย levels ofย literacy.ย ย 

Another issue affecting theย outcomesย of online engagementย is equally important but perhaps less well understood. Itโ€™s an issue that affects all engagement processesย butย oneย thatย is exacerbated by the current focus onย online deliveryย โ€“ย who โ€˜self-selectsโ€™ to participateย and who doesnโ€™t.ย 

ย 

"We need to actively seek out, invite and encourage participation from the full spectrum of community members to ensure we have a genuine understanding of what our communities really think."

Nicola Wass

Director - Communications and Engagement

Testimonial

The self-selection bias

Generally speaking, peopleย who self-select to participate in community engagement activities areย those who areย negatively motivatedย (opposedย to what is being proposed)ย and those who have strong viewsย orย interests in the matterย being discussed.ย ย 

Thereโ€™s no question that it isย importantย for these community members to share their views and be heardย โ€“ indeedย their contribution isย necessary if we are going toย understand the breadth of community opinionย โ€“but they are onlyย oneย part ofย theย picture.ย 

Community members who have less emphatic and more neutral views areย not as drivenย to participate inย self-selectย engagement activities.ย This lack of motivationย toย participate in self-select activitiesย meansย their views and prioritiesย areย not being heard or considered in decision-making, and that our understanding of community perspectivesย remains incomplete.ย ย 

Those whoย feelย disenfranchised and disempoweredย are also missing. This often includesย younger people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disabilities, vulnerable community members and those from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.ย 

Accounting for the data skew

We need to actively seek out, invite and encourage participationย fromย the full spectrum of community members to ensure we have a genuine understandingย of what our communitiesย reallyย think.ย ย 

Designing engagement programs that include a combination of self-select and randomly selected activities is key to this, as is providing support to those community cohorts that need it to ensure they have an equitable opportunity to participate in an effective and meaningful way.

Robust, defensible engagement processesย are designed so that theyย actively seek out,ย inviteย and supportย theย involvementย ofย aย representative cross-section of the community. Thisย ensuresย we receiveย feedback thatย genuinely reflectsย the range ofย community views,ย and not just those with the loudest or angriest voices, to inform project development and decision-making.ย 

Engagement for everyone

Asย ourย current situation powerfully demonstrates,ย we are all affected by what goes on around us.ย Government decisions impact everyone.ย Now more than ever engagement practitioners need to design engagement processes that reach and involveย a representative sample of the communityย and not just those with easy access to the internet, strong views or a special interest.ย ย 

Byย actively planningย for both self-selected and randomly selected participants in our engagement processes weย canย ensure the outcomesย of engagement genuinelyย reflect the nuanced spectrumย of views that exist across our communityย andย support better, more equitable decision-making.ย ย 

At RPS we work with you to make complex easy โ€“ so get in touch to find out howย youย canย ensure you are reaching and hearing the nuanced views of your community.ย 

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