Our projects

Let’s Talk Planning – community education 

Client: Bayside City Council

Activate was engaged to develop an education program to address growing community concerns about growth, development and change in the inner-south Melbourne municipality of Bayside.

Like many areas experiencing high levels of population growth, levels of concern around planning and growth related matters was rising, coupled with challenging media coverage of heritage and high-profile planning permit disputes, resulting in significant community pressure and criticism of Council.

Activate developed a multi-staged communications and community education program, called Let’s Talk Planning. It started an honest and open conversation with the community about the challenges (and benefits) of growth and change.

The aim was to set clear expectations, build understanding around Council’s (and other stakeholders) roles and responsibilities, bust myths and misinformation, and build confidence in Council’s strategic future planning. 

The campaign invited and responded to community questions on an ongoing basis while doing a deep dive into issues such as heritage, trees and vegetation, neighborhood character, quality building design, parking, the planning permit process and planning scheme amendment process. 

A suite of clear and informative resources such as videos and infographics were produced to support the campaign, and Council’s community engagement processes.

We love a strategic, complex communication and engagement challenge!

Some other topics we have worked on include:

• Housing and social and affordable housing strategies

• Structure Plans and Urban Design Frameworks

• Integrated transport plans and parking policies

• Other growth and change education campaigns

Rosebud Aquatic Centre Design – community engagement

Client: Mornington Peninsula Shire Council

With our Engagement Collective partners, we designed and delivered two stages of engagement to involve the Mornington Peninsula community in the specification and design of their new Rosebud Aquatic Centre (now known as Yawa Aquatic Centre).

The first round of consultation involved presenting the community with a business case around the potential length of the pool, and seeking their informed preference. Engagement was challenging due to community frustration about the ‘slow’ pace of the project, however ultimately resulted in Council supporting the community’s overwhelming preference. 

The second round of consultation was to seek feedback from the community on concept designs for the new facility and local input to inform more refined, detailed designs. 

Across the two stages, the Shire received input from over 7,300 participants through a range of engagement methods including surveys, place-based pop-up activities, community sessions, online feedback and a telephone survey. Construction of the new aquatic centre is due for completion by the end of 2020. The new aquatic centre opened in mid-2021.  

Some of our other facility design engagement projects include: 

• Leisure and aquatic facilities 

• Sports pavilions 

• Community, library and children’s hubs 

Love Bayside: Don’t Waste it – Community behaviour change

Client: Bayside City Council

We developed a behaviour change communications program to support changes to Bayside City Council’s kerbside bin collection service. This included:

• Swapping household waste bins to a new colour to meet Victorian Government requirements

• Changing the frequency of green waste bin collection (to weekly) and household waste bins (to fortnightly)

• Encouraging the continued uptake of food waste recycling through the green waste service.

Some other Victorian Council’s were also in the process of making similar changes with mixed success, one or two abandoning or reversing the changes due to significant community resistance.

Activate developed a three-staged change communications program, branding, key messages and developed a full suite of information collateral (including video, mailouts, bin tags) to support the implementation, delivered in partnership with Council.

The campaign reached over 250,000 people via social media attracting over 1,000 comments, and there were 65,000 visits to the campaign webpage and ‘bin day lookup’ tool.

Over 80% of households adapted correctly to the new bin schedules within one month of the changeover date, and there was a 32% increase in the number of Food and Green Waste bins ordered. Within three months of the changeover, Bayside’s landfill diversion rate increased by 9%, to 69%.

Other behaviour change campaigns we’ve developed include:

• Encouraging movement and physical activity

• Resource recovery and reducing waste

Social and Affordable Housing – community and stakeholder engagement

Client: Hepburn Shire Council

Activate partnered with bespoke housing consultancy, Hornsby & Co. to develop an Affordable Housing Strategy and Action Plan with Hepburn Shire Council.

Like many areas across Victoria and Australia, Hepburn Shire is experiencing an acute housing affordability crisis, particularly in Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, the ‘spa capital of Australia’ and centre of its essential tourism economy. The Shire’s very engaged and active local community had been advocating for action for some time.

Activate designed and delivered a two-staged community and stakeholder engagement program to inform the development of the Strategy and identify locally-relevant, innovative actions. This included the development of an Issues and Options Paper that unpacked this complex issue in a simple and engaging way to support the engagement process.

This complex engagement bought together participants from various and often competing perspectives and needs including long-term residents, community services, local businesses, short-term accommodation rental operators (eg. AirBnb), investment property owners, developers and key workers.

Other Social and Affordable Housing projects include:

• Social and affordable housing strategies

• Market testing/ feasibility of a social and affordable housing opportunity

• Social housing development engagement

• Social housing explainer materials

Aged Friendly City and Services Review – community and stakeholder relations

Client: Darebin City Council

Activate supported Darebin City Council with a communications and engagement strategy for their Age Friendly City Review. Conducted at the same time that proposed Federal Government funding changes threatened the provision of aged care services by councils across Victoria, the review attracted significant community, stakeholder and media attention.

Our strategy included a detailed analysis of the various stakeholder groups and their perspective, and the development of a five-stage approach to inform, educate and consult the community in designing an ‘age friendly’ city. 

In addition, we also responded to this brief with a carefully curated stakeholder and issues management approach, to guide Council through the consultation and emotive issues raised through the proposed Federal Government funding reforms.

Despite initial stakeholder and community criticism and scepticism about the Review, feedback on the process and outcome was overwhelmingly positive. Following the consultation, the Age-Friendly Darebin Report and the majority of its 98 recommendations were endorsed by Council.

We’ve also provided strategic stakeholder communications and engagement planning for other complex projects including: 

• City centre and market revitalisation and redevelopment projects 

• Community centre redevelopments 

• Sector-based stakeholder engagement plans  

• Community facility and service closures 

Whitehorse 2040 Community Vision – deliberative engagement and visioning

Client: Whitehorse City Council

Working with our Engagement Collective partners, Activate scoped, designed and delivered a three-stage engagement process to develop the Whitehorse 2040 Community Vision. This was the first deliberative process and project of this scale undertaken by Whitehorse City Council.

Our role included establishing the project governance structure, engagement strategy, staff training, implementation of online and face-to-face broad engagement, and recruitment, design and facilitation of a 50-member deliberative panel process.

The engagement program was adapted several times to varying COVID-19 requirements and conducted around the Council Election Caretaker Period, requiring significant project management and political acumen.

More than 1,600 people participated in the broad engagement, and over three days the community panel deliberated to develop the Whitehorse 2040 Community Vision which was adopted unanimously by Council.

Additional long-term strategic visioning engagements we’ve supported include:

• Community Visions

• Council Plans

• Municipal health and wellbeing plans

• Establishing representative community engagement panels

Greening Whittlesea Strategy – engagement and communications 

Client: Whittlesea City Council

With our Engagement Collective partners, Activate designed and delivered a communications and engagement program to seek community and stakeholder feedback on Council’s Draft City Forest Strategy. This involved a significant awareness and education component about the value of trees to climate and liveability, and the need for proactive, strategic action. The aim was to generate enthusiasm and a sense of ownership for the strategy and the City’s green assets. 

Delivered during Melbourne’s COVID-19 lockdowns, our approach combined a project-specific online engagement platform with Q&As, survey and a discussion forum, webinars and online workshops, social media photographic competition and polls, and signage installed in more than 50 outdoor parks, open spaces and trails. It effectively reached over 1,000 local community members and stakeholders.

Additional environmental strategy engagement projects include: 

• Urban forest strategies 

• Climate emergency response strategies 

• Carbon neutral and climate resilience strategies 

Every Bit Counts – advocacy

Client: Glen Eira City Council

Activate was engaged to develop an advocacy approach, strategy, campaign and key messages for Glen Eira City Council. The goal of this advocacy campaign was to mobilise the community and lobby Ministers to save two pockets of open space in the lead up to a state election. 

For this campaign, we developed a strategy and tactical advocacy approach document, a communications program and an implementation plan for Glen Eira staff to roll-out. The communications materials included a campaign slogan, key messages, text for key communications channels, and a hard copy and online community petition (to be tabled in Parliament).

This campaign resulted in both the Liberal and Labor parties in Victoria committing to return one of the open spaces to the community if elected. The Labor party also committed to working with Glen Eira to secure their second pocket of desired open space.

We’ve also developed advocacy campaigns about: 

• Tackling Ageism (collaborative regional campaign)  

• Funding for revitalising community facilities 

• Including sustainability in the Victorian school curriculum  

Planning and Development - customer experience and communications

Client: Bayside City Council