Community participation and engagement a key focus for Highland Council

At last week’s meeting of the Communities and Place Committee, progress updates were provided on Highland Council’s ongoing work to increase participation and engagement with communities across the Highlands.

Members also considered a draft Participation and Engagement Strategy and agreed the Annual Participation Request Report for the Scottish Government.

Chair of the Communities and Place Committee, Councillor Graham MacKenzie, said: “Highland Council is committed to making a positive difference for our communities and our Participation and Engagement Strategy will ensure we have a framework for engaging with people in the Highlands and providing opportunities for all voices to be heard. Involving people and collaborating with partners on service delivery will allow us to support and enable communities to influence decisions that affect their local areas.”

The Participation and Engagement Strategy outlines the principles that will guide the Council’s approach to engagement, the methods to be used and how it aims to increase greater involvement from communities in service design and delivery. A period of public engagement will seek views from the public and key community stakeholders before the strategy is finalised.

Cllr MacKenzie continued: “Working closely with communities is the best way for us to identify opportunities and understand local needs. Effective engagement and partnership working enables us to move projects forward and these reports are helpful reminders of how and when we can engage local people and why we seek their participation in the process. Engagement has been conducted by a wide range of Council services across Highland, and I look forward to an agreed action plan that will, over time, allow us to empower people to influence and shape decisions in their own communities.”