In 2023 I worked with Tasman District Council’s Community Policy team to set up and facilitate eight community meetings to discuss the up-coming Long Term Plan 2023/33. Our goal was to build trust and confidence in the process to encourage a high level of engagement, and to also spend time getting a better understanding of the values each community held and the key issues they were facing.

Tasman District Council (TDC) is a Unitary Authority, one of only six in Aotearoa and as such has territorial and regional council responsibilities. Due to it’s size, extending from Richmond to Golden Bay and down to Murchison, TDC services a very diverse range of communities. As such our early engagement activity needed to be tailored to each audience focusing on their specific challenges and opportunities whilst also building understanding of the wider regional economic and environmental needs.

The meetings were well attended by the key stakeholders and we were able to report our findings back to the council to help it shape it’s draft Long Term Plan. You can read more about the outcome of our early engagement activity here.

• Engagement strategy

• Planning and facilitating Stakeholder workshops and events

• Reporting