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Community consultation and development has rapidly become the principal approach by which organisations are strategically and responsively managing and coordinating their operations. Increasingly, organisations are seeking public input on matters affecting them, improving the organisation’s decision-making process. Public involvement also helps to build mutual understanding between organisations and publics, establishes organisational transparency, and builds reputational capital. While community consultation is more embedded in democratic countries – such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom – this approach is spreading globally. International organisations such as the UN and OECD, also use well-developed consultation practices. The demand for expertise in this area is high at present and this is predicted to continue into the future with the ongoing expansion of democratisation in modern communities, and particularly in Australia with the growth of large-scale infrastructure projects.

This course introduces students preparing to enter professional contexts to contemporary communication management strategies and techniques used in community relations, consultation and participation. Students will develop practical and conceptual skills in relation to the trends, issues and processes involved in consultation project planning and implementation, and the inclusion of publics in decision-making processes of organisations.

On successful completion of this course students should be able to:

1. explain the broad context in which community relations and community consultation practices have developed in organisations;
2. demonstrate academic and professional literacy skills by identifying, analysing, and applying core theoretical perspectives; underpinning organisational-public relationships;
3. comprehend the role of community relations and community consultation in the contemporary organisation;
4. demonstrate oral and written communication skills by preparing an assignment task;
5. demonstrate academic and professional literacy skills by reflecting on their own learning;
6. describe the core communicative skills and competences required for facilitating organisation-community communication (including conducting community communication);
7. demonstrate management, planning and organisation skills by outlining processes to plan, implement and evaluate a process of community communication (and/or consultation);
8. demonstrate problem-solving skills by identifying issues and complexities involved in organisation-community communication, and developing strategies to manage them.