Community engagement: putting people first in building sustainable community futures: three case studies of innovative engagement practice

Three communities, the small rural shire of Nebo Shire in Central Queensland, the remote area council of Lockhart River in Cape York and the large, urban Ipswich City Council in South East Queensland, used various strategies to engage councillors, council staff and the community. These case studies highlight the challenges of designing and building sustainable communities in different social, economic and environmental contexts. The paper identifies common principles for successful engagement and community building strategies, and applies to these case studies the theoretical foundations of the areas of social institutions, community engagement, organisational culture, strategic performance, innovation, change management, complex adaptive systems, public policy and leadership.