Engaging ‘Hard-to-Reach’ People

HGLV Training

Amy Hubbard and Sally AbbottCapire Consulting Group

• Four years young• Ten staff, diverse talent• Design, deliver, report, evaluate, train• Over 150 engagement projects• From one day to two years

The Capire Consulting Group elevator pitch:

Engagement

a generic, inclusive term to describe the broad range of interactions between people

Community

broad term to define groups of people; whether they are stakeholders, interest groups, citizen groups, etc.

a community may be a geographic location (community of place), a community of similar interest (community of practice), or a community of affiliation or identity (such as industry or sporting club).

Community Engagement

A genuine process of working with stakeholders and groups of people to develop relationships, build understanding and inform decision-making processes

Who are the ‘hard-to-reach’?

People that face barriers to participation for a range of reasons.

Different groups can be “hard-to-reach” depending on the project, location, community or individual circumstances.

Who are your ‘hard-to-reach’ community

members?

Why engage ‘hard-to-reach’ people?

By speaking to people directly, you can

access knowledge from the source.

New ideas will be promoted by encouraging

a diversity of voices.

Build capacity of the community to voice

opinions and be active citizens.

Generate creativity and innovation as people who have a

different life experiences look at

challenges differently.

And lastly, engaging the whole community is about civic participation and

promoting people’s democratic right.

What are the barriers to participation?

What types of tools and techniques could be used to engage ‘hard-to-reach’ people?

Case Studies

“I came to Australia 3 years ago when I was 16 years old. I was born in Eritrea,

but everything is different here.”

“I am 66 years old, I have a disability and I don’t drive or like to go out at night. I find it difficult to participate or come to

public meetings as they are usually held at night. I am not very good with computers,

unless my children help me.”

“I arrived in Australia from Vietnam 10 years ago, but my English is very limited. I have 2

children and I own a small business.”

“We are a group of children aged between 8 and 10

years old. We go to the same primary school”

Others?

What have you learnt today?

What will you do differently?

Thank you

Further information, contact Sally or Amy