Wellington City Council — 10-year plan

Wellington City Council (WCC) was looking to consult on its 10-year plan more comprehensively than ever before. The plan included a range of ideas and the council needed to get feedback in an accessible way. It would only succeed in drawing out this engagement if it made the conversation two ways.

Challenge.

To engage more people over several phases – from consultation, feedback and engagement with the chosen plan priorities. The experience presented viewers the key pillars of the plan, showed engagement to date and how others are feeling about the proposals in a meaningful way.

Challenge.

To engage more people over several phases – from consultation, feedback and engagement with the chosen plan priorities. The experience presented viewers the key pillars of the plan, showed engagement to date and how others are feeling about the proposals in a meaningful way.

Solution.

The submissions process asked for users’ data, including their overall rating of the plan, each idea, their age, ethnicity and suburb. It allowed users to submit either small or large scale submissions. Real-time data was presented on the site as users made submissions. The data allowed WCC to show how people were reacting to the idea with higher-level snapshots in an array of ways through mapping, charts, diagrams and dashboards.

Solution.

The submissions process asked for users’ data, including their overall rating of the plan, each idea, their age, ethnicity and suburb. It allowed users to submit either small or large scale submissions. Real-time data was presented on the site as users made submissions. The data allowed WCC to show how people were reacting to the idea with higher-level snapshots in an array of ways through mapping, charts, diagrams and dashboards.

Impact.

The site reached a younger demographic and had well over 2000 submissions in the first year, which was significantly more than ever before. WCC has continued to collect user data and display submissions in subsequent consultation processes.

Impact.

The site reached a younger demographic and had well over 2000 submissions in the first year, which was significantly more than ever before. WCC has continued to collect user data and display submissions in subsequent consultation processes.

Differences between suburbs.

Breaking down the submissions by suburb demonstrated some striking differences from one area to another. While some suburbs were extremely supportive of cycle paths – others were not. The real-time feedback for users meant that if a view was not being represented, then it was easily identifiable. Users could mobilise to ensure their voice was heard.