Embracing rigour : developing a community engagement framework for strategic urban planning

Local governments are increasingly seeking new ways to engage with communities through a variety of productive avenues. Yet strategic planning lags behind with an accepted method to consult and engage with communities about proposed policy changes. When engagement methods are used which go beyond those which are legislated for, the process often involves members of communities who are familiar with planning processes, or have time to participate, thereby excluding large sections of the community. In addition, consultation methods often lack rigour in data collection upon which major strategic decisions are based, thereby undermining government's capacity to make quality and informed planning decisions. The aim of this paper is to assist local government urban planners with their community engagement practice in order to form policies which are acceptable to the affected communities. The paper proposes a community engagement framework which introduces rigour within the community engagement process by drawing on research methods from psychology and political science.