Use the IAP2 Australasia Methods Matrix tool to find the right tool for your community and stakeholder engagement project.
Citizens working with organisations to contribute to scientific research with the aim to increase scientific knowledge.
A reflective process designed to examine the key events of the past along a timeline, highlights and lowlights and any learnings or insights.
Multi-criteria decision analysis aims to allow groups to determine and agree on a set of criteria and weightings to apply to their decision making on challenging issues. Complex problems would often have conflicting criteria, for example factors such as high costs, might be in conflict with environmental benefits. Working together to decide on how how […]
An interview technique to intercepts members of the public, often on the street’ and asking for their opinion on a topic.
A bundle of mini methods that support groups work towards long-term strategic thinking and problem solving.
Similar to an opt-in e-panel except members are randomly-selected to avoid bias.
Community members opt in to be part of an online engagement panel.
Online forum where invited or self-selected participants contribute to an online discussion about a topic or project for a set period of time.
Online software that engages the community in an interactive way.
Deliberative democracy processes are methods where a representative sample of the population, usually chosen through random selection, meet and deliberate over a few days.
A forum where a representative sample of the community deliberates on a topic, issue or proposal. Forums last at least 2 days.
A structured group of community or stakeholder representatives that meet regularly and operate under a Terms of Reference. Can vary from members providing their own feedback or ideas, to members acting as a conduit between the broader community and organisation.
Research involving a community of practice trying to solve a problem through action. Communities act as “co-researchers”.
Deliberation and decision making is undertaken by decision makers in view of the public, such as in a public gallery or by video streaming, to enhance transparency and accountability.
A website where content is not owned by a specific person or organisation, but is created, deleted or modified by members of the public.
A method for hosting a meeting, conference or summit which is focused on a particular purpose or topic, but which has no formal agenda set.
A form of discussion where participants agree to suspend judgments to fully explore a question and seek shared meaning.
A structured method to explore specific, complex issues, and where participants work in small groups.
Used for planning local areas, a design charette is a multi-disciplinary design workshop held over 3-4 days, involving stakeholders, the project team, planning and design professionals, technical experts and sometimes community members.
Gathering ideas, services and content, from online users, rather than from staff or suppliers. Crowdsourcing can including asking for solutions to a problem, seeking funding for a project such as a start-up (crowdfunding) developing creative content or graphics, or to gather information. Can include a competition or incentive.
Large numbers of people who are selected to be representative of the population and be a part of a panel that deliberates on a range of issues over a set period of time. Surveys are distributed during the time to understand community attitudes, feedback, issues and behaviour. Can track changes as well.
Process where the community works with an organisation through its budgeting process.
Citizens edit and shape documents and reports through a series of circulating documents.
A future planning process where participants undertake a series of sessions on the past, present, future, common ground, and action planning. Designed to develop a shared vision for the future.
A highly-structured method involving a representative jury or panel of non-expert citizens who deliberate during a chaired public hearing held over 2-4 days where they hear evidence from a range of different experts. Jury members decide who to call in as expert witnesses. Participants make recommendations or decisions.
A large-scale 2-3 day event where a large number of diverse people come together to consider information, engage in dialogue, participate in interactive activities and make recommendations.
A representative sample of citizens are randomly selected to form a citizen’s jury which deliberates on a problem or opportunity. The jury hears evidence from witnesses, in front of a public gallery, before adjourning to deliberate and make a recommendation or decision.
Participants individually write their ideas, concerns, issues on cards. These are shared in small groups then categorised by the whole group.
Consumers and users work works with designers to codesign products, services or processes