Temora & District Community Radio Inc.

Community Consultation Strategy

July 2022 – June 2027

1 Purpose

This Consultation Strategy outlines Temora & District Community Radio Inc’s (TDCR) approach during its five-year licence period to ensure that it encourages a broad cross-section of the licence area community and community organisations to participate in the operations and programming of the service. It is to be read in conjunction with TDCR ‘s Engagement Program at all times.

This Consultation Strategy:

assists the Board/Management Committee, sub-committees and staff to conduct effective community consultation
ensures that consultations obtain relevant information, opinions and data from members of the licence area community and community organisations and
provides a clear guide for the Board/Management Committee, sub-committees and staff on the various consultation methods to be used to obtain optimum outcomes from their consultations.

TDCR has eleven (11) sub-committees, which meet regularly to assist them to address matters specific to their respective areas of responsibility. The sub-committees are: Buildings, Administrative, Finance, Training, Library, Production, Marketing, Program, Membership, Technical and Community Relations. These Sub-committees constitute a formal mechanism which enables TDCR to facilitate participation by members of its community interest in the operations and programming of the service.

While consultation is used to obtain information and opinions on a variety of issues relating to the service, including operations and programming, the Board/Management Committee remains the determining authority in general.

2 Background and scope

This Consultation Strategy applies to:

Board/Management Committee members
Sub-committees and

Community consultation is an interactive process between TDCR and the community in the TDCR RAX licence area, which promotes the exchange of ideas and information and the identification of relevant issues and options. This enables TDCR to continue to represent its TDCR community interest and involve members of the community in the decision-making process relating to the operations of the service and in the selection and provision of programs.

While the information and opinions held by members of the community and community organisations are varied and may be conflicting at times, community consultations help to bring about shared views and outlooks. To achieve this, community consultations are to be conducted according to the following principles:

Community consultations are to be –

community focused and targeted
interactive and inclusive
responsive and constructive and
timely and documented.

3 The TDCR RAX licence area community

For the purpose of TDCR representing the TDCR community interest in the Temora RA1 licence area means providing a service that meets the needs of people who:

live or spend a substantial amount of time within the TDCR RAX licence area or
share an ethnic or cultural background or
share religious beliefs or
share, or identify with, some other particular characteristic or interest.

In addition to the general community within a licence area, community organisations provide fertile ground for community consultation. Community organisations encompass institutions such as schools, universities and churches, as well as agencies representing sections of the community such as youth groups, women’s groups and senior groups within a licence area.

A map of the TDCR RAX licence area is provided below.

4 Matters for community consultation

TDCR will:

identify the needs and interests, including key issues and specific areas, of significance and priority to the community interest in the Temora RA1 licence area
consult on the most efficient ways and the most appropriate strategies to respond to those needs and to meet those interests
identify and consult new and emerging communities within the Temora RA1 licence area to ensure that TDCR is responding to their needs and meeting their interests
distribute questionnaires and undertake surveys of listeners and the wider community to ascertain how well TDCR is responding to their needs and meeting their interests
identify and remove barriers to participation by members and volunteers in the operations and programming of the service and
make available operations and programming opportunities within the service to broaden the scope for participation by members and volunteers in the service.

5 Methods for community consultation

Information may be distributed to community organisations and members of the licence area community in emails and letters, newsletters or brochures. Seeking their opinions and ideas, however, is done in a range of ways. The methods for community consultation include but are not limited to the following:

having a presence at key community events eg school fairs, university open days
holding or participating in workshops and seminars
holding or participating in discussion forums and community meetings and
administering questionnaires and surveys.

6 Community consultation process

The most appropriate method will be selected for each community consultation to allow for the open exchange of information and ideas between TDCR and the relevant community organisation or members of the community participating in that consultation.

This will entail the following process:

identify the issue or area requiring community consultation
identify who will participate in the consultation
identify when and where the consultation will take place
identify how the consultation will take place
implement the consultation and gather results
analyse the results against the issue or area for consultation
make recommendations for responding to the issue or addressing the area consulted and
implement the approved response and/or actions.

7 Community consultation protocols

In undertaking community consultation, the Board/Management Committee, sub-committee and staff will operate according to the following protocols:

the issue or area for consultation will be specified
information will be conveyed simply and concisely
all information and opinions will be canvassed and heard
those from different cultural or linguistic backgrounds will be able to participate
adequate time for input and feedback will be allowed
time made available and input provided will be acknowledged
all input will be collated honestly and analysed fairly and
the community will be informed of the results and actions for implementation.

8 Review

This Consultation Strategy may be reviewed from time to time, as required, or within six (6) months of the election of a new Board/Management Committee.

9 Relationship to other documents

All TDCR policies will be aligned with those set out in this Consultation Strategy and the Engagement Program, as amended from time to time.

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