Run a Conversation Project

Run a #RightTrack Conversation Project!

Overview

The #RightTrack Community Conversation Project uses evidence-based materials to assist local refugee rights groups to run facilitated conversations with family, friends and people of influence in their communities. See the full project guide here.

The facilitated conversation model is based on a values-based framework which uses personal narrative to guide a conversation about the human impact of current Government policies on people seeking asylum. Values based conversations with people who have been previously undecided or unaware of these issues have proven to shift their attitudes towards fair and humane policies, following a conversation.

Data gathered from conversations is a powerful way of proving to local MPs that community attitudes are shifting and refugee rights is a growing issue in their electorate. Groups can use and share this data with partners and supporters to lobby local MPs and put forward a compelling case for change in the lead up to the next federal election.

How to run a conversation project

	Action	Purpose	Outcome
Step 1	Launch	Engage base supporters, give context to project, enlist hosts and facilitators, media opportunity	Hosts and facilitators recruited
Step 2	Facilitator Training	Train facilitators, establish systems, handover materials	Facilitators confident in their role and understand process skills
Step 3	Conversations	Match facilitators and hosts, roll out conversations to reach new audiences and build movement	Data coordinator enters survey data, flow on conversation bookings made
Step 4	Compile Data Report	Measure attitudinal shift in conversations	Evidence base to support advocacy efforts
Step 5	Report Back	Re-engage base and newly persuaded audiences, media opportunity	Increased MP and community awareness of asylum policy as an issue, growing support for fair and humane policies

Levels of engagement (for community members)

Facilitator: Train to facilitate conversations. Commit to facilitating a number of conversations during project.

Host: Commit to hosting a conversation by providing a space (home, café, etc) and inviting guests.

Bring a friend: Commit to bringing a friend to a hosted conversation

Roles in the project team

Project Contact: Overall coordination of the project and contact person to ASRC Community Engagement team. See the overall Conversation Project Guide here.

Bookings Coordinator: Contact person for hosts, keep records of when and where conversations occur, work with facilitator coordinator to match appropriate facilitators to hosts.

Facilitator Coordinator: Train and support the facilitators, debrief with facilitators, work with booking coordinator to match facilitators to hosts. See the Facilitator Coordinator Guide and Training Session here, which unpacks each stage of the conversation structure guide, facilitator training session and presentation slides. The Facilitator Tips and demonstration videos (below) are also useful tools to train facilitators.

Data Coordinator: Ensure surveys from every conversation are collected and entered into SurveyMonkey. Once your project team has appointed a Data Coordinator, contact Gayle and Angela (commeng@asrc.org.au) and we'll send you the SurveyMonkey link specific to your project. See the Data Coordinator Guide here.

Events Coordinator: Organise project events, including possibility of hosting public conversations

The Evidence

Words that Work research project

Community conversation project in Higgins