The conversation has gone off track, now what?
Author: Emma Andrews, 14 May 2026
You’ve planned your engagement session.
You’ve got a clear focus.
You know what you need to talk about.
And then the conversation starts… and it goes somewhere entirely different.
Frameworks Don’t Walk Into the Room…You Do
Author: Andrea Hogan, 12 May 2026
There’s a lot of good engagement training out there.
Frameworks, models, processes - they all matter.
A good engagement plan gives structure.
It creates clarity.
It helps people prepare.
And those things are important.
But plans and frameworks aren’t the only things that walk into the room.
You Can Have the Best Engagement Plan in the World… And It Could Still Fall Apart
Author: Dan Barr, 6 May 2026
I’ve seen a lot of engagement plans over the years.
Good ones. Thoughtful ones. Well structured.
The kind where you look at it and think this should work.
And sometimes it does.
But just as often, it doesn’t.
Not because the plan was wrong.
But because people didn’t respond the way anyone expected.
Local Government Engagement
Author: Dan Barr, 24 September 2025
How Stakeholder Engagement Impacts Project Timelines
Effective stakeholder engagement is critical to the success of local government services and infrastructure projects. Done well, it builds legitimacy, reduces risk, and aligns stakeholders around a shared outcome. But while engagement delivers long-term value, it often extends project timelines, reduces immediate productivity, and puts pressure on delivery schedules.
Trust in Government
Author: Dan Barr, 10 September 2025
Why Good Engagement Matters
Trust in government is one of the cornerstones of democracy. Strong relationships between governments, citizens, and organisations are built on transparency, inclusion, and effective engagement. Yet in Australia, trust levels remain lower than comparable democracies such as New Zealand and Canada.
Globally, trust in democratic institutions is under pressure from technological disruption, rising inequality, political polarisation, and declining civility in public debate. Australia is no exception—these challenges affect every level of government, shaping decisions, slowing delivery, and impacting productivity.