City of Melbourne

Let’s get people talking

A game to get people to talk about what means most to them

It is hard to get people to think about the 
future and what’s most important to them. To solve this problem, we designed a research plan based on a card game that got people thinking and talking about their future vision for the City of Melbourne.

My Role
Lead Strategic Designer

Skillset
Lead Design Research
Workshop Design and Delivery
Report Writing
Project Planning
HCD Training

Company
City of Melbourne

Design Challenge

Create a Community Vision for the City of Melbourne that embodies the desires and requirements of its diverse population by implementing the principles of deliberative engagement. Deliberative engagement necessitates the orchestration of thoughtful and comprehensive dialogues that lead to well-informed decisions and consensus-building on pivotal matters affecting the city's future.

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The Design Process

In March 2021, we undertook a community consultation to inform the future aspirations and plans for the City of Melbourne. Our objective was to ensure that every community member, regardless of demographic, has the chance to be heard. To help people digest the question, “What is your ten-year vision for Melbourne”, we introduced seven aspiration themes derived from the COVID-19 Reactivation & Recovery Initiative. 

These themes became the centre point of the research plan, and we asked participants to rank them across various activities, which included workshops, intercept surveys and online engagement. 

To facilitate prioritisation in the workshops, I designed a game that guided individuals through an individual ranking process, followed by group discussions to determine the top three priorities as a mini-community. 

To ensure everyone had the chance to participate, we tailored online and offline workshops to cater to the specific needs of individuals with disabilities, children, culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) audiences, and Indigenous Australians. 

​Participants were also asked to ‘dream big’ and submit one idea they’d like to see for Melbourne in the next ten years. We ensured that specific opinions or specific priorities were captured as part of the community engagement process.

The Result

A new 10-year Community Vision

The new aspirations were workshoped with the City's CEO and council members to help form a draft council plan. The priorities identified through this consultation helped shape the draft ten-year Community Vision, which we incorporated into the draft Council Plan 2021–⁠25. Community members further reviewed the plan through an online platform. 

Council endorsed the final Council Plan on Tuesday, 29 June 2021.