Significant Community Engagement Activities

The Directorate continued to provide advice and assistance in relation to effective community engagement, with a focus on the further development of online and social media tools to communicate with the community.  A range of traditional and digital initiatives to engage with Canberrans were delivered during the year, including:

• the ACT Government Digital Mail Service, an emailing outreach service commenced in February 2014, to provide government information in a more timely and targeted way, with 24 messages to the 27,500 recipients who opted-in to receive information via email sent to date;
• the sixth and seventh Twitter Cabinets were conducted in September 2013 and June 2014 respectively, attracting a total of over 1,500 tweets during both events;
• the Our City, Our Community newsletter was delivered to all Canberra households in September 2013 and March 2014, providing up-to-date information on government services and initiatives;
• a 5th five day community engagement workshop was delivered to government communicators and members of community groups in August 2013, providing practical insights into the use of a range of 'best practice' community engagement tools and techniques; and
• two 'Cabinet in the Community' events were held in conjunction with the openings of the Belconnen Community Health Centre and the refurbished Tuggeranong Community Health Centre, with the Chief Minister and Ministers on-hand to discuss issues raised by members of the public in an informal setting.

A range of community engagement activities occurred during the year on specific projects as detailed below.

Budget Consultation

The 2014-15 Budget Consultation process was launched on 12 September 2013, seeking the views of interested community members, businesses and local organisations as to how the ACT Government's resources are allocated, where services could be enhanced, and where possible efficiencies could be made.  Background information and links to relevant documentation, including previous budget papers, were made available to the community through the Budget Consultation website.

A total of 80 written submissions were received, covering a diverse range of issues including disability, health, education, community services, sports and recreation, arts and entertainment, the building industry, land release, public infrastructure, sustainability and public transport, as well as ACT finances.  Submissions were made publicly available on the Budget Consultation Website unless the author specified that the submission was confidential.

Directorates and agencies reviewed the individual submissions for consideration in the development of proposals for the 2014-15 Budget.  Views and suggestions provided by the community were also used to inform decision-making, drawing on the knowledge and experiences of users and providers of government services.

CMTD also conducted a budget briefing lock-up for peak community, business and industry organisations, with over 100 people attending a presentation delivered by the Treasurer, Mr Andrew Barr MLA, on Budget Day (3 June 2014).  Senior ACT Government agency representatives were available to answer any questions arising from the Treasurer's presentation.

Digital Canberra Action Plan

Development of the Digital Canberra Action Plan involved targeted interviews with sector and industry leaders, research of current and future trends in the drivers of digital change in Australia and overseas, and extensive consultation with the community.  This included:

• a Chief Minister Roundtable with 16 industry representatives on 3 July 2013 to discuss key opportunities for Canberra as a leading digital city;
• crowd sourcing over 200 ideas, votes and comments on the Time to Talk website to help shape the Digital Canberra Action Plan; and
• surveying 489 small businesses on their use of ICT and digital tools, as published in the Digital Canberra eBusiness Report 2013 on the CMTD website, resulting in the delivery of a series of business workshops to build digital capacity.

Regulatory Reform and Red Tape Reduction

To help identify and prioritise regulatory reform and red tape reduction activities, CMTD consulted with industry and community peak bodies through the Regulatory Reform Panel and surveyed 300 ACT residents to understand community perceptions, values and concerns about regulation in the ACT.

National licensing reform

In July 2013, the ACT Government commenced consultation on national licensing reform seeking industry stakeholders' views, to inform the ACT Government's deliberations on the Decision Regulation Impact Statement for national licensing reform and whether to participate.  The Head of Service wrote to a range of key unions, peak bodies and businesses seeking written submissions and extending an invitation for face to face meetings with officers from the Directorate and relevant ACT regulators.

In response to industry interest, ACT Government officers organised three meetings to cover each of the occupational categories of electrical, plumbing and gasfitting, and property.  Around a dozen stakeholders attended each meeting.

As a result of the consultation, industry's views were incorporated in advice provided to Government.  The reform was ultimately not agreed to by the COAG.

Pay parking machine procurement

On 27 July 2013, as part of the procurement for pay parking machines, the Directorate released draft specifications for industry comment for a two week period, seeking views on the specifications as well as advice on alternative technological solutions.  This informed the formal tender for pay parking machines.

As part of the formal tender, the ACT Government hosted a joint industry briefing session with the National Capital Authority on 2 October 2013.  This included an advertisement in The Canberra Times and a link on the CMTD website.  Approximately 50 people attended the industry briefing, where ACT Government and National Capital Authority officers provided an overview of the tender and sought and addressed questions from industry.

Review of the Public Sector Management Act 1994

Work commenced on the review of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 in November 2013.  A paper outlining concepts for a draft bill was circulated to unions as preparation for an initial consultation session that was held on 10 February 2014.  Further consultation sessions on the bill were held on 5 May, 9 May and 17 June 2014.

Review of the Respect Equity and Diversity Framework

The Directorate commenced the Review of the RED Framework during the 2013-14 financial year, with discussion papers distributed to community stakeholders.  The closing date for submissions was extended into the 2014-15 financial year to allow community stakeholders to provide submissions.  As at the end of the financial year, only four submissions had been received from community stakeholders.  The review is ongoing and will be finalised during the 2014 calendar year.

Centenary of Canberra

As part of the Centenary of Canberra Celebrations, a number of community engagement activities took place involving various members of the community.  These included:

• Centenary School Coordinators' Group, where three meetings were held during 2013-14 with primary and secondary school teachers to discuss projects in the Centenary of Canberra Program that were of interest to the education sector, with schools developing their own activities as a result of these meetings;
• Youth Artists in Conferencing involved consulting with arts organisations, community organisations, universities and industry groups to obtain residences/placements for artists, with two artists, one curator and 22 students directly engaged in residences or placements;
• Portrait of a Nation Unmade Edge involved meetings with representatives from the 'villages' around Canberra (Hall, Pialligo, Oaks Estate, Stromlo Settlement, Uriarra and Tharwa), with six projects providing opportunities for each community to explore and express their local stories and histories;
• Kids, Creatures and 100 Harlequins Children's Week Festival was developed in consultation with a number of groups including the Green Teachers' Network which presented their sustainable produce at the festival, Music Organisations' Network who assisted in the development of an adaption of Andrew Schultz's Symphony No.3 – Century which was performed at the Festival, and the Children's Week Working Group that advised on the planning for the festival; and
• SPIN which included a number of different activities including SPIN Saturday and SPIN Hub Capital, engagement in developing these activities involved numerous community groups and individuals, with 2,700 people attending SPIN Saturday and 15,000 taking part in Hub Capital activities.

Consultations were also held with a range of groups to assist in the development of centenary projects such as Parties at the Shops, Parties at your Place, Parties in your Village and the Portrait of a Nation Australian Schools' Portrait Project.

Grants/Assistance/Sponsorship Programs

During 2013-14 the Directorate provided assistance, sponsorship and grants to a range of organisations as detailed below.

Output 1.1 Government Policy and Strategy Grants

Output 1.2 Public Sector Management

Output 1.4 Coordinated Communications and Community Engagement

Community Grants

Annual grants to local community councils are provided to assist with the promotion and conduct of their activities.  Community Councils play an important role in providing feedback to the ACT Government on projects and programs that impact on their local area. 

Community Support Fund

The Community Support Fund provides funding for worthy charitable organisations.  The Chief Minister receives numerous requests each year to launch a range of appeals for charitable organisations.  When these types of events are launched by the Chief Minister, or another Minister, the Community Support Fund allows for a donation to be made to the respective charity on behalf of the ACT Government.

 Centenary Community Initiatives Fund

The Centenary of Canberra funded 51 projects, initiatives and events to a total value of $1 million to celebrate the centenary.  The organisations below received funding (all or part grant) in 2013‑14.

*Amount expended in the reporting period

Centenary of Canberra Sponsorship

The Centenary of Canberra provided sponsorship to a range of events, projects and initiatives that met the goals of the Centenary of Canberra Program.  Those events delivered in the reporting period feature in the table below.

 *Amount expended in the reporting period