Foreword and introduction
Foreword
As your council, we’re committed to working with you to shape the future of our communities. This strategy marks a fresh chapter in how we engage – one that puts your voice at the centre of our decision-making.
As the Executive Councillor for Community Engagement, I’m proud to introduce this strategy as part of our wider ambition to improve how we listen, respond, and work together across Lincolnshire.
Councillors, as your local representatives, play a key role in understanding the issues that matter most to you. Alongside council officers, we’re committed to using a range of ways to keep conversations going and ensure your views are heard and acted on.
While some aspects of our work are guided by legislation, there is also space for us to shape how we do things in a way that reflects Lincolnshire’s unique character and priorities.
We are already listening and look forward to hearing more of your feedback, learning from your experiences, and working together to deliver the best outcomes for families, communities and the county.
Please take a moment to read through the commitments we’re making in this document – and hold us to them. We’re here to serve you and to help make Lincolnshire an even better place to live, work, visit and bring up a family.
Councillor Rob Gibson
Executive Councillor for Community Engagement
Introduction
Engagement is a vital part in supporting our ambition to be a council that continually strives to improve our services for local people, businesses, organisations and communities across the county.
It helps us show strong, local leadership and speak up proudly for Lincolnshire.
Across the council, teams and councillors use a host of methods to ensure we get and listen to your views including conversations, hosting events, and other activities.
The strategy builds on our past achievements and renews our focus on making sure your voices inform our services and policies.
To support that aim, we follow an engagement process that reflects the strategy principles. It’s backed by tools and templates that help us plan, document, and review engagement ensuring it is fair, effective, and leads to better results.
At the heart of this is Let’s talk Lincolnshire – our central hub for engagement and consultation. It’s where you can share ideas, have your say on important topics, give feedback on policies and plans, and find out about upcoming face-to-face events.
Our engagement team work closely with council services to make sure every engagement activity is meaningful and available to everyone who wants to take part. The team review and support engagement before it proceeds, to help council staff run effective, fair and lawful engagement that leads to better-informed decisions.