Division of Business
B-HERT Awards were established in 1998 to recognise outstanding achievements in collaboration between business and higher education in the fields of research & development and education & training. The objective of the program is to highlight at a national level the benefits of such collaboration and enhance links between industry and universities.
Best Community Engagement Winner: University of South Australia, City of Tea Tree Gully, City of Burnside, City of Unley, Local Government Association of South Australia, City of Campbelltown and City of Holdfast Bay
Title: Community Panel
Community Panel was established as a joint initiative by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the University of South Australia (the Institute) and three large metropolitan city councils, with support funding from the Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA). Working in partnership with councils to engage local communities, the project has established 'community panels' of residents in five city councils. The panels are used as a primarily research and engagement tool with each council's community. The concept of Community Panel is to engage residents of all ages and backgrounds, to gather feedback from these 'panelists' about decisions affecting their local community using online surveys, and then for council to use these research results in decision-making. It also allows for council residents to engage online and offline with others who live in their local council area.
There are currently over 2000 Community Panel members regularly contributing; and Community Panel continues to grow with new councils adopting Community Panel and residents continuing to join the existing panels. The project is establishing an innovative new model of community research and engagement, which better meets the needs of councils and the community, enabling more residents to have an input into local decision making, and empowering council managers and elected members by providing data that accurately reflects the views of their residents.
