Responding to a forecasted population growth and increased use of the facility, Council identified the need to redevelop Cardinia Life. It was important that facilities, programs, and services meet the needs of the growing community into the future and strengthen its position as a valued community asset.
Capire worked with Council on an extensive engagement program to find out community aspirations for the site to inform advocacy for funding. The objectives of the engagement were to understand how the community currently uses Cardinia Life, what they value in the centre; and to understand why people do not use Cardinia Life.
A broad-reaching promotional campaign was used to raise awareness of the potential redevelopment and promote the engagement opportunities. This included a project webpage via Creating Cardinia, emails, social media, postcard, posters, advertisements and media releases. We used a range of tools to seek feedback from the community including a survey, pop-ups, briefings with existing groups such as Council’s Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee, focus groups and interviews with representatives of industry or sports bodies.
Around 700 community members from Cardinia Shire participated. Engagement reflected the many aspirations for the centre, capturing a diverse range of views. We also held a workshop at the end of the engagement period to present the findings of the engagement. Capire analysed the data into an informed summary report.
The principles for redevelopment align closely with the engagement findings. They state that Cardinia Life is a place for everyone, it is safe and accessible and should focus on the wellbeing of the whole community.
The engagement findings will be used to support advocacy for funding and the development of a concept plan for the design of Cardinia Life.
-
Community member
