Engagement guide

This guide helps you plan for community engagement with disabled people.

The questions are designed to help you think about everyone’s needs.

Purpose

What is the purpose of the engagement?
How will the engagement process help you?
What questions and topics will the engagement process cover?
Has engagement happened before on these issues? If so, what were the insights? Have other organisations done engagement that would be useful to you?

Who should you engage with?

Which individuals and groups should contribute to the issues and decisions? Are they representing their own views or the views of a group?
Who do the decisions affect?
Who are subject matter experts on the topic?
Have you considered all groups, including:
- tāngata whaikaha Māori
- tāngata whaikaha Māori and their whānau-led organisations
- disabled people
- Deaf people
- Turi Māori
- disabled people’s organisations (DPOs)
- advocacy groups
- carers, family and whānau
- support groups.
For information on working with people with specific impairments, read:

How will the engagement process work?

Different levels of engagement can be used for different stages of your engagement. For example, when you are communicating upcoming opportunities and don’t need feedback, it would be inform. Then when you are seeking feedback, it could be consult or even involve.

Inform: share information one-way, from your organisation to the community. People do not give input into decisions. Example: websites, letters.
Consult: two-way communication. Ask for people’s opinions and listen to their feedback. Example: surveys, focus groups, social media.
Involve: work directly with the community during the process. Ask for feedback and discuss questions together. Example: workshops, planning groups.
Collaborate: partner with the community. Make decisions together using a co-design approach. Example: advisory committees, reference groups.
Lead: the community makes the final decision. Example: voting.

These levels of engagement are based on the Good Practice Guide for Community Engagement external URL

Communication

Is it clear who you are consulting, what you are asking about, when it will happen, and why?
Is the information clear, simple, and concise?
Will the engagement process get interest from the media? Develop a communications plan, key messages, and/or media statements.
Read the accessibility section to ensure your communications are suitable.

Accessibility

Have you considered the needs of all participants? Have you asked participants or invited people to let you know if they have any accessibility needs? This enables you to arrange for any accessibility needs or reasonable accommodations you may not have already considered. Allow budget for meeting these accommodations.
Will you use images, diagrams, graphs, or tables in the engagement materials?
Using images, diagrams, graphs and tables accessibly
Will you use a website or other online tools in the engagement process? Have you considered the accessibility of online survey tools for everyone participating?
Will you produce written material in the engagement process?
Using written information and printed materials accessibly
Will you give presentations in the engagement process?
Accessible presentations and other verbal communication
If you are using a venue, is it accessible – from a physical and sensory perspective?
Venue accessibility
Do you need NZSL interpreters?
Do the materials need to be translated into te reo Māori?
Have you made provision for alternate formats? Allow budget and time for developing alternate formats.
All-of-government process for creating alternate formats
If your topic is particularly sensitive, what plans do you have to ensure the psychological safety of participants? Is your facilitator able to take a trauma informed approach if needed?

Timelines

When will things happen or need to happen? Have you built in enough time for accessibility?
What are the timeframes for decisions?
Have you allowed enough time for planning and feedback?
Are key dates clear for everyone involved?
Is there time for follow-up after engagement? What is your plan for letting contributors know how their feedback was used? Is this accessible for all contributors?
Have you allowed sufficient preparation time?
Consider the time it will take to:
- book New Zealand Sign Language interpreters
- book accessible venues
- make travel arrangements.
Consider the time it will take to produce alternate formats (allow for 4-8 weeks), if they are required for engagement and/or reporting at the end of engagement.
All-of-government process for creating alternate formats

Resources and budget

What is your available budget?
In addition to the usual costs such as venue, catering and koha, consider the following:
- engagement materials (including alternate formats, publication, printing, and distribution)
- advertisement or promotion costs (including promoting your event and recruiting participants) and creating these materials in alternate formats
- external facilitators, when independence is crucial to build trust
- NZSL interpreters
- te reo Māori interpreters
- data analysts or data entry for analysis of the feedback
- compensation for participants for their time (honorarium or payment) and/or travel (flights, taxis, mileage, petrol and/or parking, accommodation) or any other associated expenses.

Analysis and reporting

What information will you collect from participants?
What reporting is needed? (for example, to decision-makers, community, stakeholders).
Will you use images, diagrams, graphs, or tables in your reports?
Using images, diagrams, graphs, and tables accessibly
Will you want to use photos of attendees? Do you have their permission? Have you told them where the photos will be published?
How will the success of the engagement be determined?
Is any support required for data analysis or data entry?
How will you ensure that principles of indigenous data sovereignty are strictly followed, not just for Māori, but for all?
Principles of Māori data sovereignty external URL

Communicating outcomes

How and when will you provide feedback to participants on the outcome of the consultation? What level and type of feedback will you provide? For an example of providing feedback, read the Pacific community talanoa feedback report
Think about the format and accessibility of feedback. Do you need to provide it in te reo Māori, hold follow-up meetings, or share it on a website?
- Using written information and printed materials accessibly
- Accessible presentations and other verbal communication
How will you show participants that their views have been heard?
How will you explain how their input will shape future work?
Is ongoing discussion or communication needed?
Will participants continue to be contacted?
Ensure that participants are acknowledged and thanked for their time and expertise in the consultation process.

Review and reflection

Ask for feedback on the engagement process. Ideally, this would be done at the end of an engagement session when the experience is still recent.
You could ask participants some of the following questions.
- Was anyone left out who should have been included?
- Did participants feel satisfied with the process?
- Did people feel listened to, heard, and respected?
- Were participants satisfied with the feedback you provided on how their input was used?
- Were there any unintended consequences?
- What could have been done differently and why?
You could reflect on the engagement as organisers by asking some of the following questions:
- Who did and did not show up? Do you understand why?
- Was the process useful for achieving the desired outcomes?
- Were time and money used efficiently?