Community action project
In 2025 Really Local Mount Alexander is bringing together 20-40 community members in a community action project to discuss an issue of common interest or concern to our community, to reach a position and make a recommendation to Mount Alexander Shire Council.
We have not yet decided the topic but are collecting expressions of interest from community members who may wish to be involved.
With your input, we will identify an issue of concern or interest to a local community and facilitate two deliberative engagement sessions (alongside an online deliberation tool) to discuss, understand and reach a community consensus and make a recommendation to Council.
We think the topic should be one which:
- engages community attention - (so something topical, for example nominated by Council, community or arising from the Council Plan/Vision engagement)
- is 'solvable' (or at least can get close to a consensus in 2 x sessions plus online deliberation)
- is within Council’s powers to enact / respond to.
What is this exactly?
We are running community based deliberation process. This is sometimes call deliberative democracy. It involves a group of people (from all across the community, often randomly selected) coming together to consider relevant facts from multiple points of view, talking with others to think critically about options and enlarging perspectives, opinions and understandings to reach a decision (thanks mosaicLAB for the description).
How is this supported?
Really Local was successful in securing a community grant from Mount Alexander Shire to lead this project.