Goals and objectives  Why is the agency engaging the community?
 What does the agency hope to achieve from the engagement?
 What time commitments must be met?
 Do the benefits of engaging outweigh the costs of not engaging?
What to consider when engaging online:
 Engaging online is generally less time consuming and can cost less than traditional forms of engagement.
 Goals and objectives should be clearly articulated to avoid selecting the wrong online community
engagement tool. An example of this might be using a social networking tool which broadcasts to millions
of members when you want to communicate to a smaller, targeted audience, or using a tool that identifies
responses publicly for issues that are inherently private.
Community to be
targeted
 Is the agency targeting:
– A geographic community?
– An ethnic or faith community?
– An Indigenous community?
– A professional community?
– A community of interest?
– Some combination of above?
 Are other agencies also engaging this community? Is collaboration possible?
What to consider when engaging online:
 Many types of communities are well-networked and represented online. Some communities have
developed online, or only exist and network online. It is important to monitor and engage with existing
online communities.
 Are any other government agencies engaging online with that community, or have they in the past? It can
be particularly confusing if different parts of government are engaging the same community online at the
same time or if a community has been consulted before on a similar issue by another agency.
Political environment  What level of political support or awareness exists about the proposed
engagement?
 Is your process part of a broader government agenda?
 Is this a contested issue?
What to consider when engaging online:
 With many online community engagement tools, once information is published it can travel quickly and not
be easily retracted.
 Many people have indicated that they have fewer inhibitions when sitting behind a computer and may be
more prepared to express strong opinions. While this can lead to honest and candid responses, it can