Kingston Case Study: Community engagement at scale

Overview

In January 2023 we began a new case study in Kingston. For this case study we returned to a traditional door-knocking approach, offering participants a widely redeemable e-gift voucher to encourage their participation. We simultaneously partnered with local community groups to enable comparison of this ‘traditional’ approach relative to signing up participants through community organisation networks.

Impact

Over 6 months, our team knocked on more than 5,000 doors across the City of Kingston, with a focus on flood affected suburbs such as Mentone, Parkdale, and Mordialloc. The team spoke to over 1,200 community members at their doors, over their fences, and along suburban streets. The research team enjoyed listening to anecdotes from residents about their experiences in the local community (flood related or otherwise), and occasionally helped community members fix a broken gate or start a lawn mower. Broadly, the approach involved experiencing the local community while engaging – hearing the stories and values that guide risk mitigation in local contexts.

We conducted initial engagements with 444 residents of Kingston, providing over $20,000 directly to community members via gift vouchers. Between July and September we conducted 292 follow ups.

Next Steps

We are currently analysing data, with outputs focusing on the methodology, a comparison of recruitment pathways, degrees of impact resulting from engagement, and exploration of spillover effects.