A transformational project to enhance how the City of Cockburn empowers its diverse community to have a say in shaping its future has won national recognition.
The City has been named the 2024 Core Values Organisation of the Year against high profile competition at the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Australasia annual awards.
Over the past 18 months the City’s Community Engagement team has spearheaded the creation of a new internal Community Engagement Framework, and an updated Council-endorsed Community Engagement Policy, all while continuing to deliver several engagement projects.
City of Cockburn Deputy Mayor Chontelle Stone said having won several previous IAP2 accolades, the latest award confirmed the City was achieving its core value of Listening and Leading, as it strived to be a community-focused, sustainable, accountable and progressive organisation.
“The success of this project has resulted in a 92 per cent increase in the number of people interacting with the City’s Comment on Cockburn website since 2021.”
City of Cockburn Manager Advocacy and Engagement Daniel Newman said the review and development of new tools and frameworks were designed to support city officers and Elected Members.
“This assists as they work with the community to seek its input and participation in a variety of projects involving a range of City services from waste management to library services, environment and transport,” Mr Newman said.
“Bolstering our framework and processes better enables the City to work respectfully with the community in a meaningful and genuine way, especially when engaging with diverse groups and participants.”
Residents can learn more about how to get involved in community consultation by visiting the City’s Comment on Cockburn
website.