Tips to better engage people with disability

The LGA, through the Local Government Disability Inclusion Advisory Group, has produced six tips on how to best engage people with disability. They include:

Deep listening
Seek out diversity
Budget for those giving their time and expertise
Remember you are all on the same team
Follow up
Good engagement never ends

Council projects and programs focus on the needs of community. Those communities comprise diverse sets of people with different wants and needs.

To discover those needs, councils regularly connect with those impacted by their work – this includes engaging people with disability.

The best way to connect is through inclusive community engagement.

Read the full Inclusive Engagement Report produced by the Advisory Group

What is inclusive community engagement?

Inclusive engagement gives people the chance to participate by reducing the barriers traditionally associated with community consultation.

The more barriers a person faces, the less likely they are to participate. These barriers can be social, cultural, economic or environmental, among many others.

For this reason, councils must make active efforts to involve those in the process who have historically been left out.

By being inclusive in our engagement, we are pushed to ensure all people are represented.

Podcast: Good engagement

Hear from the Local Government Disability Inclusion Advisory Group and their discussions about 6 top tips on how to have good engagement with the disability sector.

Podcast: Good engagement

Podcast transcript - 6 tips for good engagement

6 tips for good engagement

1. Deep listening

It is not enough to just listen. Deep listening is about understanding.

This understanding can only come by listening with empathy to the other person’s needs.

Sitting down with someone who has lived experience of disability is a great opportunity for learning. The power of deep listening lies in hearing the stories told firsthand and understanding both the ideas and feelings being conveyed.

To do this, you need to create a space that feels safe and worthwhile to share in. If a person doesn’t feel safe or valued, they are unlikely to connect and contribute.

You can support creating a safe space by being genuine and anticipating (or asking about) a person’s needs.

You should also give people the time and space to think, process and share what’s on their mind – and support everyone to have the chance to speak.

By going slow, you will encourage more personal and important stories. These stories might, at times, be quite painful and you must allow for them to be expressed and valued.

By opening yourself up to deep listening, you can radically transform the quality of information you receive and lead to better decisions.

2. Seek out diversity

Not only are communities diverse, but they are diverse in many ways.

No one person is representative of any gender, race, culture, or disability and any one person may cross many different strata of diversity.

That’s why, when engaging, it is essential you seek input from a wide array of people who have lived experiences with disability.

People will bring unique experiences and perspectives to the table and will be impacted by your projects and programs in different ways.

Allow time and space for complexities to emerge and be worked through. This may mean reaching a point where group members can be comfortable with disagreement and uncertainty.

Conflict of opinion is not necessarily a bad thing. You must, however, ensure all people engaged in the process feel safe and supported while these conversations take place.

This conflict can then create opportunities for the group to grow stronger and be better positioned to give advice.

By having a diverse set of people involved in your decisions, you get a more well-rounded view of the issues at hand and can better deliver for the community.

3. Pay people for their time and expertise

People with disability have unique lived experience and knowledge. It is important this wisdom, and the time spent sharing it, is valued and compensated appropriately.

The Advisory Group members expressed a common theme of being asked to give free consultations and then noting that nothing came from the time or advice they gave.

This does not foster enduring relationships with the disability community and can make them feel unwelcome in local government. This will make serving people with disability even harder – perpetuating the cycle.

Appropriate payment recognises you take this seriously and you are more likely to follow through on advice. This also demonstrates you respect the advice being provided and you value the expertise.

You should also be careful to never assume people with disability have time to engage. People with disability live complex lives and many face barriers that others do not.

When planning to engage, ensure you leave enough time to let them respond, and that you have budget available to pay them for their services.

4. Remember you are all on the same team

One of the toughest parts of community engagement – particularly inclusive community engagement – is welcoming negative feedback.

Consultation is not always smooth sailing.

At times, it may be confronting to hear what you’ve done wrong or why your plans won’t work. For many organisations, it is this fear of criticism that stops them from starting the journey to be more inclusive.

It is important to remember that inclusive engagement involves everyone working towards the same outcomes. That is, to improve services and do things better for the community.

Your council must be open to criticism and willing to learn.

By building genuine partnerships with people with disabilities, you can better work alongside them to create better outcomes for the whole community.

5. Follow up

This is one of the most important stages of community engagement that is often overlooked.

The Advisory Group recount many times where they have given advice and not known whether it was implemented. For this reason, it is critical to follow up with those you have engaged.

By sharing the results of your progress, they are able to give you feedback that can help shape the future of your progress.

It also helps close the loop and ensures they feel valued for their expertise. This will aid your consultation and engagement in the future.

Follow up is a simple step you can schedule into your project timelines.

By having it on the timeline, you ensure it is not overlooked and it continues to be a valuable part of the engagement process.

6. Good engagement never ends

While follow-up is important, inclusive engagement is ongoing process.

A strong inclusive engagement system ensures that everyone living with disability is supported and represented in the community.

Through this engagement, you better align your projects and programs with the needs of the people you serve.

However, there is always more that can be done. All council projects and programs can be more accessible and inclusive to our communities.

To do this, you must be both proactive and committed to access and inclusion. This involves looking for opportunities to engage more, reduce barriers, and build systems to better support those in need.

This should be reflected not only in your schedules and timelines, but in your strategy and planning, and everything you do.

Guides

Additional Resources

Other inclusive guides from the Disability Inclusion Advisory Group:

Learn more about communicating with people living with disability with these tips from the: