FAQs

A community panel is a group of people from an area or community that come together to discuss and make recommendations about various topics and matters. 

The panel is representative sample of the various views and voices of the community it stands for selected through a random selection process. 

We're establishing a community panel to conduct a ‘deliberative’ community engagement process. The community panel's recommendations will help inform our major strategic documents, which are pivotal in our efforts to plan for the future of Manningham, 

These documents include our Council Plan, Community Vision, 10 Year Financial Plan and Asset Plan.

There are many benefits to participating in the community panel, including opportunities to: 

• provide input and help shape recommendations to Council for its major strategic plans 
• be involved in a range of facilitated discussions with other community members and meet new people. 
• become better informed about Council's decision-making process and the matters that we engage with the community on
• track progress of this project and be informed through the development of the major strategic documents. 

In recognition of panel members’ involvement, all panellists will be provided with meals and receive $650 for their time and commitment.

The community panel will meet over multiple sessions to learn about, discuss and form collective recommendations. Sessions will be held on weekends or evenings during the week.

The panel’s recommendations will be used to inform the development of our major strategic documents, including the Council Plan, 10 Year Financial Plan, Community Vision and Asset Plan. 

Community panel members will participate in a series of interactive, facilitated sessions. During the sessions community panel members will hear from expert speakers and a range of viewpoints on key issues and priorities for Manningham and participate in activities to analyse data gathered from the broader community engagement and develop recommendations.

The panel will be asked to consider several questions relating to Council’s strategic plans.

The panel will work together (with the support of professional facilitators) to consider a wide range of information, ideas and evidence. Participants will be open to learning about all perspectives and considering them on their merits and work with other participants toward reaching agreement on what’s important for Manningham.

This response will be detailed in a report that the panel members will create together and present to Council.

No. Anyone can participate – your thoughts, opinions and ideas are all you need. We will provide all panel members with the relevant briefing and background materials to support panel members to participate.

Council endorsed the following remit for the Manningham Community Panel at its 25 June 2024 meeting(External link).

Council has a budget of $147m, but we can't do everything and need to make hard choices. We need to know what services you value most to help us create a new Council Plan, Asset Plan and Financial Plan to guide Council activity for the next four years to align with the Community Vision. It will inform what the community pays and gets in return.

What range and level of services are you prepared to pay for?

We will:

• publish the panel’s self-written recommendation report
• prepare a public document responding to each of the panel’s recommendations. (This will include actions and any decisions to not act on recommendations.)
• implement the recommendations to the maximum extent possible.

We will provide meals, and panel members will receive $650 for their time.

In early August 2024, 8,000 randomly selected households across Manningham will receive an invitation to express their interest in participating in this engagement.

From those who apply, independent non-profit research group, newDemocracy, will draw a panel of 40 people to represent the wider community.

The random selection process means that everyone in the community has an equal chance of registering their interest and being selected to be a community panel member (within the demographic they represent). 

The community panel will bring together a diverse group of people, representative of the broader community. This diversity will be valuable as the panel considers the challenges and opportunities facing Manningham and in developing their recommendations to Council. 

We're planning to contact successful applicants regarding the outcome of the selection process in late August. If you are selected to join the panel, we will be in touch with further information about next steps, including details about the deliberative process.

If you are not selected for the panel, you will be notified and advised of other opportunities to be involved. 

If you have signed up to the Your Say Manningham page, you will continue to receive project updates regardless of your application outcome. Additionally, if you have registered your interest in being contacted about future engagement opportunities, you will hear from us about those too.

You may have already contributed to this engagement.

Plan Manningham 2025+ community survey

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Plan Manningham 2025+ community survey between May and July 2024.

During this consultation, we asked for your top three priority areas for Council to focus its resources on for the next four years.

Targeted Conversations

You may have also joined our ‘Targeted Conversations’. These are small group discussions where we bring people with similar backgrounds or interests together to discuss detailed information around topics that affect their needs and priorities.

Your feedback across these consultations will help the panel understand the broader community's priorities and aspirations.

Individual submissions

There will be an opportunity to make individual submissions for the panel’s consideration. More information will be available soon.

Yes, we will provide detailed background information to participants ahead of the panel sessions. 

There will also be presentations at the start of each session to ensure panel members can meaningfully participate in each session.

MosaicLab is a team of facilitators and community engagement practitioners that design and facilitate deliberative engagement processes.

MosaicLab’s role is to support the community panel members in their discussions. This includes promoting informed discussion, enabling everyone to have a chance to participate and contribute, remaining neutral and therefore not having a stake or interest in the content or outcome, and responding and adapting to the group’s needs.

The MosaicLab facilitators will aim to guide the process in a way that helps panel members to do their work as effectively as possible.

The panel will meet on the following seven occasions.

• 11 September, 6.00pm to 9.00pm, Meet and greet (online)
• 14 September, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• 12 October, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• 2 November, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• 16 November, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• 7 December, 9.00am to 5.00pm
• 1 February, 9.00am to 5.00pm

The Community Panel sessions will be held at Mullum Mullum Function Room, 31 Springvale Road, Donvale 3111.

Panel members are required to attend all sessions. 

We understand unforeseen circumstances may arise during the panel period and this will be managed on a case by case basis.

Yes, we will keep you up to date throughout the process. 

At the start of each engagement stage, we will let you know:

• the purpose of the sessions/activities
• how the information will be used
• how and when engagement findings reports will be made available to you and next steps.

Yes, please let us know as early as possible if assistance is required so we can work with you to support and accommodate your needs. 

Yes, reporting of findings from the community panel will be de-identified. This means that we report on what the panel has said collectively, not individual contributions.

A deliberative engagement process with community members is an exciting new approach that governments worldwide are adopting. It puts the community at the centre of the decision-making. 

There are a number of principles to deliberative engagement that we’re following at Manningham, including:

• A representative sample of the Manningham community will be randomly selected to participate.
• Participants will be provided with detailed, in-depth information from a range of sources that helps them to understand the issues and options associated with the decision.
• Participants will be given the time and support they need to consider and discuss information and ideas, weigh up issues and options and agree on recommendations for Council.
• Participants will prepare their recommendations and write their own report.
• The report will be presented directly to decision makers (in this case Council). 
• Recommendations will have a high level of influence over outcomes or decisions.
• The group will meet over several days and times, and their discussions are supported by professional, independent facilitators. Over these sessions, the panel will discuss and share ideas based on a wide selection of information, including the results of the wider community engagement phase.

This deliberative engagement process will be in line with the principles and practices set out in Council’s Community Engagement Policy.