The Shaping Our Future toolkit.
No two projects are the same. From district-wide mega issues like water and tourism to visioning for individual small communities, we don’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead we pick from a toolkit of engagement.
Our priority is to make sure your time is used efficiently. We mix and match our four core tools – Forum, Task Force, Survey and Workshop – to suit the subject. Some projects call for a multi-stage journey while others can be covered by a one-off workshop or survey.
By combining local passion and professional insight, we help you put onto paper strategies that will get results from decision-makers.
The Forum
Public forums are the foundation of Shaping Our Future’s work. In these open events locals from all walks of life come together to discuss big issues and big aspirations.
You’ll won’t be bored at a Shaping Our Future forum and you won’t be talked at by a politician or a bureaucrat. Our forums are energetic collaborations with small group discussions where every voice is heard. Whether we’re creating a vision for an small community or talking about fundamental issues that affect the whole district, we capture the collective values and hopes of the people.
The raw data and ideas gathered during these sessions provide essential direction if a task force is formed. Even if there isn’t a task force, every forum has a detailed report that can be shared with decision-makers to influence their thinking.
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The Forum: Sparking the Vision
Our projects almost always begin and end with large-scale public forums. We host these open, facilitated events to bring residents together, moving past gripes and grumbles to solid ideas for a better future.
The Work: Setting the Agenda
Change can’t happen in a vacuum. The Forum is where we gather the different views needed to define our goals.
Brainstorm: We move from "what is" to "what could be" and identify the top priorities.
Connect: We break down silos, allowing people to find common ground. We are not afraid to have difficult conversations.
Collaborate: We use table-top discussions to ensure everyone – from the quietest to the boldest – has a say.
The Process: Constructive Dialogue
Independent Facilitation: Our forums are neutral ground. We provide a safe, apolitical space where residents can debate the future without fear of bias or predetermined outcomes.
World Café Style: We use interactive methods that encourage cross-pollination of ideas.
The Impact: A Community Mandate
Forums give our work purpose and direction.
Guidance for Task Forces: The Post-It Notes and word clouds generated at a forum go beyond just talk – they become an instruction manual for further work.
Building Momentum: By bringing people into a room together, we build the collective energy required to push for long-term change.
Democratic Design: When you see your own words reflected in a final report, you know the vision was built from the ground up
The Task Force
The Task Force is the generator of the Shaping Our Future process. We use it for both single-community visioning and big district-wide issues.
After priorities and goals are set through forums and perhaps surveys, a dedicated group of volunteers steps up to form a task force to turn ideas into action. These teams bring a mix of life experience and professional expertise to the table.
Their job is to take the community feedback and transform it into a robust strategic report. This may involve research, interviewing stakeholders and testing the community’s ideal solutions against real-world constraints.
The resulting report isn't just wishful thinking – it is a formal, community-endorsed roadmap that we present to councils and agencies to drive genuine long-term change.
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The Task Force: Turning Ideas into Action
The Task Force is a team of 10–12 volunteers who spend a few months diving into the data and writing a report. Members don't work for special interest groups, they represent the whole community.
The Work: Raw Data and Research
Task forces investigate solutions.
Analyse: Take the hundreds of Post-It notes from the forums and group them into clear themes to establish priorities.
Investigate: Consult with experts and review studies and Council documents.
Look Elsewhere: See how other places have approached similar challenges.
The Process: A Structured Journey
Fortnightly Meetings: Usually held over 3–4 months. We keep things efficient and focused.
Collaborative Drafting: Together the volunteers draft a report to take back to the community.
The Impact: Getting to the Decision Makers
The Task Force doesn't just file the report in a drawer.
Public Sign-off: Present the findings back to the community for a final green light.
Official Weight: The approved report is formally presented to the District Council, Regional Council or Central Government.
Real Change: Because the report is backed by deep research and community consensus, it carries political weight that individuals alone cannot achieve.
The Survey
The Survey provides a reality check for our projects. This tool lets everybody contribute, regardless of their busy schedule. Our surveys are designed to move beyond simple yes or no questions. They invite deeper feedback that reflects how people really live and work..
Our online and street surveys add statistical weight and diverse perspectives to the visions built by forums and task forces. Surveys can also work on their own to probe specific issues.
Even if you have only 5 minutes to spare, your survey response helps ensure that the final recommendations we deliver to decision-makers are truly representative of the thousands of people who call this place home.
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The Survey: Testing the Vision
While surveys often support a task force’s research, they are equally powerful as separate engagements or as a way to "check the pulse" of the district following a workshop.
The Work: Broadening the Reach
Not everyone can make it to a two-hour evening meeting. Some people who could make great contributions – shift workers, parents of young children and so on – may miss out. Surveys bridge that gap and ensure we aren't just hearing from the loudest voices.
Validate: We take the big ideas from a forum and ask the broader community,"Did we get this right?"
Stand-alone Insight: Sometimes we just want to know how the community feels about a single, urgent issue. An online survey provides that clarity quickly.
Inclusive Data: By using both online polls and street surveys we hear from all demographics.
The Process: Statistical Weight
Data Analysis: We do more than listen to opinions, we crunch the numbers. We make our survey samples as large as we can and analyse trends to see how views differ across location and demographics.
Transparency: We always publish summaries of our surveys. We show the data so it’s clear how the community feels as a whole..
The Impact: A Mandate for Change
Whether supporting a task force or standing alone, the Survey gives community sentiment more power.
Safety in Numbers: When we can show that 80% of 500 residents, say, support an initiative, it carries greater weight with decision-makers.
Refining the Path: If a survey shows the community doesn't like the direction a task force is taking, there’s a chance to stop and pivot. We don't move forward without a clear mandate.
The Workshop
The Workshop is our primary tool for knowledge exchange. These are focused, one-off sessions featuring invited specialists who help us explore complex topics – from urban design and transport flow to food resilience and environmental science.
Global or local experts share their experience and technical insights, then there’s an interactive discussion where residents can ask the hard questions. This way we can bridge the gap between local aspiration and professional expertise, ensuring our community's big ideas are grounded in evidence.
By combining outside perspectives with local knowledge, the Workshop gives residents the language they need to go for more sophisticated solutions, giving our collective voice more weight when it reaches the decision-makers.
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The Workshop: Deeper Detail
The Workshop is where we sharpen our understanding of important topics. These one-off events bring specialised knowledge directly into our community conversation.
The Work: Inspiration with Participation
Our workshops are built around expert guests. These leaders in their fields provide fresh perspectives on the challenges facing our district.
Invited Specialists: Listen to local and international speakers with real-world knowledge.
Interactive Engagement: Discuss how these insights apply to us in a conversation that can be both visionary and practical.
The Process: Evidence-Based Discussion
Technical Insights: Because these are targeted events, we can focus on a single, vital system – like our local food network – to identify gaps and opportunities in a way a general forum cannot.
Collaborative Reporting: The insights from these sessions are captured in reports that serve as a resource for future community action and local policy-making.
The Impact: Credible Advocacy
The Workshop transforms community passion into technical authority.
Informed Decision Making: By learning from experts, we ensure reports are backed by evidence and global precedents.
Bridging the Gap: These sessions give residents the tools to sit at the table with planners and politicians, speaking a common language.
The Forum in action
Still wondering what a Shaping Our Future event looks like?
Check out this video of the forum that sparked Arrowtown’s Community Visioning Report.