Staff Picks

You are responsible for the material you publish on your EngagementHQ site. Be aware that photos, videos, maps, texts, etc are usually protected by copyright and cannot be published on your site without consent from the copyright owner. Before you publish any material, make sure that you have all rights to the content and/or have consent from the copyright owner.

EngagementHQ will not be able to help determine if content is protected and/or can be used on your site.

Also, keep in mind that participant's will not know either. Participant's may upload copyright material in certain tools, e.g. the photos in the story telling tool. Only re-publish the content if you are sure they are the copyright owner or have the rights to publish this content.

If you unsure about anything copyright related, we recommend you check here: http://www.copyright.org.au/

Our first staff pick for 2016 is also Gladstone Regional Council's first project. What a great start! The council wants community input about the reshaping and reimagining of the area's Central Business District and are using EHQ's engagement tools in very innovative ways. This project is well worth a click through and a closer look.

Client: Gladstone Regional Council, Queensland, Australia

Project: Help us jumpstart our city heart

Publish Date: 20 January 2016

Topic: Gladstone Regional Council is asking for community input on the renewal and revamp of Gladstone's CBD. The results of the consultation will help with the development of an Urban Renewal Strategy and Implementation Plan.

Tools: Forum, Brainstormer, Mapper, Q&A

Widgets: Photo Gallery, Document Library, Key Dates, FAQ, Related Projects

We love:

1. The simple introduction: Clear project descriptions are key to a successful engagement campaign. Ideally, an introduction sets up the context of a project, provides background information and guides users towards the engagement tools. In addition, the description should outline the expected outcomes of a project as well as clearly state the consultation close date. Gladstone Regional Council does this right in addition to containing the engagement close date in the Key Dates widget on the right-hand side of the screen instead of in the introduction.
   
   
2. Innovative use of tool I (Discussion Forum): Gladstone Regional Council is our first EngagementHQ client to use the Pinterest photo board in a Forum. The photo board provides great visual imagery and also serves as inspiration for participants to visualise their ideal CBD. This really breaks new ground and we are interested to see how effective it is as we think it is a great idea.
   
   
3. Innovative use of tool II (Brainstormer): Brainstormer is the second engagement tool used in this project and the second tab. Note how the call to action is phrased: "$1000 spaces - what would you do with the money?" We love the clarity and call to action. What a great way to get the participants in the right mindset to start sharing their ideas.
   
   Also, it is great practice to rename the tool tab with a call to action, in this case 'share your idea'. Perfect!
   
   
4. Innovative use of tool III (Practice): Looking at all the engagement tools used in this consultation you will notice there are many comments, ideas and map markers only a few days into the project. Looking closer, you will observe that most of them come from the same set of users, called 'ExpoStall' or similar.
   
   Why is this the case? The engagement team at Gladstone attended a range of community events with tablets in hand to collect ideas and comments (and registrations). These community responses were then entered directly to the site providing a great starting point for conversation and archive of comments collected. This is a fantastic way to combine real-life community engagement with online engagement and a fabulous method to introduce their freshly launched EHQ site to an interested audience.
   
   
5. Documentation: As alluded to in point one above, projects that provide simple background information and clearly set up a consultation context are usually the most effective. This can be achieved through the description, but usually only in conjunction with a well-organised widget space. This project is evidence of this. The Key Dates, Document Library and FAQ widgets on the right are simple to understand, have all the necessary details and the files small enough to download even on limited mobile data plans.

For further consideration:

1. Too many tools: Gladstone Regional Council has been very innovative in their tools use, however, there may be just one too many in play which could dilute the responses. Whilst the tools choice are good, including a mapping tool and the Q&A tool to increase transparency and build trust between the project team and community, there may not be a large enough audience to generate a wide response rate. Something to consider for future projects.

2. Faces: We love seeing good imagery and colour on project pages. And this project contains a lot with images in the gallery and description, as well as on the Pinterest boards. The only thing missing is a few human faces! We always recommended including shots of people to give a project a human touch.

OVERALL: Congratulations to Gladstone Regional Council for jumping headfirst into online community engagement! Trying to be innovative is difficult. Being innovative with your first project takes a leap of faith and sets the bar high for future projects. We can't wait to see what's more in store from Gladstone.

The Western Bay of Plenty District Council is located on the picturesque North Island of New Zealand. The council's most recent online consultation speaks to coastal erosion and its effect on marine and community life in the area. We love how the council engagement team is getting the community involved at an early stage of the development of a 30-year policy. The project itself is also well designed, so let's take a look at what works.

Client: Western Bay of Plenty District Council, New Zealand

Project: Living With The Changing Tides

Publish Date: 08 November 2015

Topic: Coastal erosion is threatening the Western Bay of Plenty district and requires a long-term governmental plan for its management. The council is looking at developing a 30-year policy on the issue and want the community involved in formulating future solutions.

Tools: Forum, Q&A, Quick Pool,Newsfeed and Guestbook

Widgets: Photo Gallery,FAQ, 2x Document Library, 2x Quick Poll and Custom Widgets

We love:

1. Excellent consultation practice: Getting the community involved early in a consultation process is fantastic engagement best practice. Instead of being asked to comment on a developed policy, participants get the chance to influence and shape that policy. This builds trust between the government and the community and gives engaged participants a sense of ownership over the consultation process.
2. Range of content: The consultation provides a huge range of research and information about coastal erosion and outlines why it is a threat to coastal lands and communities. Content is provided in a number of forms, as downloadable documents, via a comprehensive FAQ section as well as through the Newsfeed (see point 3).
   
   However, some of the content provided is too large (10MB and above), which can be cumbersome to download. We recommend providing this kind of content in the smallest size feasible for easy download and to not take up too much bandwidth.
3. Use of the Newsfeed: The Newsfeed is being used to collate relevant articles from other websites making it a hub for regional news about coastal erosion. A great idea, which gives site visitors a reason to regularly return to check on the latest developments.
4. Site look and feel: This project page looks and feels just right. The images match the tab colour, the background is subtle and there is a beautiful project banner.
5. Promotion: We say this a lot - the best-designed projects don't necessarily receive the most engagement if they are not well promoted. Administrators need to be very active in promoting their consultations by any means available using corporate websites, social media, newsletter mailouts and traditional media such as local newspapers.
   
   The Western Bay of Plenty engagement team did a fantastic job of project promotion resulting in the second highest amount of page views upon launch for an EHQ site ever! The forum already contains a number of comments close to its launch date.

For further consideration:

1. Guestbook: Whilst most of the engagement tools currently being used on the site make sense, the Guestbook could have been left out. When using a Forum, the Guestbook becomes redundant as it is a stripped down version of a Forum and distracts the user unnecessarily.

2. Project Image: The large measurement gage image is too large and doesn't match the area of the project description text. A smaller image or no image can work just as well and brings the tools further up the project page.

OVERALL: Involving the community early in a project lifecycle is fantastic community engagement best practice. Doing so via a great-looking EngagementHQ project page is even better. This project has ticked both boxes and earned the title of this week's staff pick. Well done Western Bay of Plenty!

NOTE: The above is based on a visit to the site on 16 November 2015. Changes made to the project after that date may have altered the appearance of the project.

The City of Port Phillip in Victoria, Australia, have done it again! This is the second time we selected a City of Port Phillip EHQ site as our fortnightly staff pick, and it's on the same topic too! Back in March, our previous City of Port Phillip staff pick on the Acland Street Upgrades took place at an earlier stage of the consultation process. Now, we take another look at the project which focuses on ensuring Acland Street "remains one of Melbourne's premier local seaside precincts".

Client: City of Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia

Project: Your Say on the Acland Street Upgrades

Publish Date: 27 October 2015

Topic: The City ofPort Phillipis looking to upgrade the Acland Street precinct, which is one of the most visited areas of the beachside suburb of St Kilda, filled with cafes, cake shops, and beach-ready pedestrians. This is the second round of consultations for this project.

Tools: Surveys & Forms, Newsfeed

Widgets: SignUp Banner, 2x Custom Widgets (Slideshare, Twitter), Life Cycle, Key Dates, Photo Gallery, Document Library, FAQ

We love:

1. Excellent consultation practice: During stage one of the consultation in March, the public was invited to leave feedback on proposed street upgrades. At that stage, open forum questions led to high levels of participant feedback. Now, the team has uploaded a draft document, which incorporates past feedback, as its centerpiece. It is great to see the impact of public input into the proposed changes.
2. Clear project description: The title description is short and simple. It provides clear context about consultation achievements so far and expectations for the future. It has an obvious call to action and consultation closing date. There's not much more you can ask for!
3. Use of SlideShare: Our previous staff pick highlighted the terrific use of custom widgets such as SlideShare to add design elements and functionality to an EHQ site. The City of Port Phillip is using SlideShare to present the planning proposal in a survey. We believe they are the first to do so!
   
   Why use SlideShare? Because it allows you to showcase a document in a visual way without needing to download anything, which is important for large documents. It is also accessible via mobile devices and a great tool when participants are required to read a document or fact sheet before engaging.
   
   
4. Use of the Newsfeed tool: The Newsfeed is designed to keep users up-to-date with a consultation's progress. This is crucial for projects with a multi-stage consultation that requires repeat visitations by participants.
   
   Note: Whilst the Newsfeed is an excellent communications tool, if your consultation contains a survey, it should appear first to site visitors (e.g. on the first page/tool tab). The Newsfeed can then appear in a second tab. This is because visitors are more likely to engage with the first thing they see when they visit a page.
5. Twitter widget: The Twitter widget remains one of the most popular custom widgets across all EHQ sites. This project features a project specific feed using the #aclandst hashtag, which is fantastic.

For further consideration:

1. Tool tabs: It is important to name the Survey and Newsfeed tabs with short and catchy titles otherwise the title will truncate and/or appear messy. For example, the survey could have been named "Acland Street Community Survey" instead of the lengthy "Acland Street Upgrade - Draft streetscape framework plan – community survey." In addition, the newsfeed could have been named "Project Updates" or simply "Updates".

2. Demographic information in the survey: The survey asks participants for basic demographic information (age, gender, etc.). However, IF you already ask for this information in your sign-up form, you don't have to repeat the process as this information is collated alongside the survey response.
   
   The City of Port Phillip may have recently changed the sign-up form and hence haven't collected everyone's details. If you are working on a new project think about the information required in the sign-up form before engaging with the community.

OVERALL: The engagement team at the City of Port Phillip have gone to great lengths to understand all the functionality of EngagementHQ, which has resulted in this fantastic consultation. A consultation that showcases the Council's terrific understanding of EHQ and online engagement practice. This is another great consultation as part of the Acland Street Upgrades. Let's hope for a stage three so the City of Port Phillip can go for the hat-trick!

NOTE: The above is based on a visit to the site on 02 November 2015. Changes made to the project after that date may have altered the appearance of the project.

This fortnight's staff pick is a beautiful and simple playground upgrade consultation by the Rockdale City Council in New South Wales, Australia. This project features a single EngagmentHQ tool - a survey - to gather community feedback along with a number of customisable widgets, which provide site visitors with relevant and useful information.

We love how the Rockdale engagement team are constantly thinking outside-the-box for their online consultation needs and exploring the non-standard functions of EngagementHQ.

Let's take a look at their playground upgrade project in more detail below.

Client: Rockdale City Council, NSW, Australia

Project: Renewing RockdalePlayground Upgrades

Publish Date: 06 October 2015

Topic: Council plan to upgrade three local parks with new playground equipment that caters for children of different ages and abilities

Tools: Surveys & Forms

Widgets: SignUp Banner, 5x Custom (Google Translate, Clickable Image, 3x Google Maps), Life Cycle, Key Dates

We love:

1. Creativity: The Rockdale City Council team have clearly thought about how to create a coherent project page that complements the survey tool. We love their clean design approach and creativity.
2. Survey: This survey is very simple in design, consisting of a few radio buttons and essay-type questions. Simple, well-set out surveys are always better than complicated and long-winded ones. Our favourite feature is that the proposed playground changes are clearly outlined both in plain text (via the 'section' page element) and via related images (via the 'image' page element). Including graphics and/or images in surveys is a great way to display a point.
3. Custom Widgets: We love the use of custom widgets. Including custom widgets on a project page means the site administrator has taken the time to plan a project and look beyond the standard EHQ tool offerings. Imagine our excitement when we saw five custom widgets on a single project page!
   
   First up is the Google Translate widget, which translates an entire web page into any language with the click of a button. The Rockdale team is using this function on all of their consultation and project pages.
   
   
   
   Second, a clickable image. This project is part of the bigger 'Renewing Rockdale' initiative and this widget image links through to the parent project. It is a fantastic way to highlight and promote a link to separate web page.
   
   
   
   Third, all three playground locations are showcased using separate Google Maps embeds. This runs nicely alongside the survey and lets participants know visually exactly where the playgrounds are located.
   
   
   
4. Balance: The project has a nicely balanced design feel due to the uniformity of column size with the left column and survey, as well as the right column and widgets, roughly the same length. We highly recommend paying attention to this design element as sometimes we see mismatched column size, which makes the page appear slightly off kilter.
5. Close date: The closing date of this project is emphasised via the Key Dates widget as well as in the survey introduction. It is very important to ensure your community doesn't miss the date for feedback submission.

For further consideration:

1. Parent-child navigation: EngagementHQ allows you to create parent <> child relationships between projects. This can alter the page navigation for a participant. The 'Playground Upgrades' project is part of the bigger 'Renewing Rockdale' initiative and can also be linked to from that site.

2. Project Banner: It may be no surprise we prefer project specific banners on all EngagmentHQ project pages. This allows a client to describe the project at hand in greater detail and this project could benefit from the same.
   
   We recommend smaller-sized banners so all meaty content of a project, i.e. the tools and widgets, move higher up the page and above the fold so that site visitors see relevant content as soon as they land on the homepage.

OVERALL: Rockdale has created a terrific project page for the Playground Upgrade consultation via a well-constructed survey and use of custom widgets. It is also worth taking a look at their other well-designed project pages. Well done Rockdale!

NOTE: The above is based on a visit to the site on 19 October 2015. Changes made to the project after that date may have altered the appearance of the project.