Participation

There are four main ways to get involved in Future Melbourne:

1. Reading - read and review the plan to familiarise yourself with the content.
2. Editing - help us improve the plan by directly editing the document.
3. Discussion - comment & discuss the plan on the Discussion pages located throughout the site.
   • Groups - how to connect with others.
   • Face to Face - meet the Future Melbourne team in person and learn how to wiki.
4. Future Scenarios - what's your future scenario? Contribute to a series of short stories about Future Melbourne written by author, Steve Bright.

Reading

To quickly gather a general overview of the plan structure you can visit the Plan Table of Contents.

The plan is comprised of two main sections, those located under the 'Introduction' link in the left hand navigation, and those listed under 'The Plan'. For most people, the goals listed under 'The Plan' (People, Prosperous, Ecocity, Knowledge, Bold & Inspirational and Connected) will provide the most direct entry points to reading parts of the plan that interest you most. The 'Introduction' section provides useful background information regarding the plan should you be interested.

You may also be interested in reading the various discussions associated with every page in this wiki (see the 'Discussion' tab in the upper right hand corner of each page). Answers to questions asked by others, as well as ongoing discussions may shed more light on the associated topic.

Editing

Generally speaking, editing is as simple as clicking the 'Edit' button in the upper right hand corner of every page (assuming you've registered), making your changes and then clicking 'Save' at the bottom of the edit window. Nearly every page within the draft plan can be edited, except the home page and some general resource pages.

However what and how you choose to edit may vary widely. For instance, you might,

• contribute new ideas to existing plan content,
• contribute to the discussion pages - comment on the plan's content and discuss it with others,
• proof plan content - fixing typos, correcting spelling errors, improving the plan's readability etc,
• build the web of links from one page to other plan pages, as well as to external websites.
• Please add your own suggestions here, or to the discussion page!

I've modified the plan, what happens now?

Any edits you make to the plan will appear immediately after you save your changes. Other members of the public may undertake further edits that affect your changes. It is up to you to follow the development of the draft plan during this open editing phase to ensure the changing content reflects your original intentions. If you make a substantial change it's a good idea to discuss your edits in the Discussion page attached to each page of the draft plan. If you justify your changes with supporting evidence then there's a greater chance they will remain throughout the life of the plan.

After the public consultation period concludes on 14 June 2008, the Future Melbourne team, along with key experts, will review the contributions made and endeavour to organise, refine and incorporate the range of ideas in the most practical possible way.

The draft plan will then be considered by the the City of Melbourne's Executive Team, as well as the project's Reference Group, before Council makes its final decision on the Future Melbourne plan in September 2008.

The Future Melbourne wiki is a world first on this scale for collaborative participation and as such, there's not yet any rule book on how such a task should be undertaken. The Future Melbourne team is quite aware that this project will be remembered for the process by which it was undertaken.

Discussion

Discussion is an important part of participating in the Future Melbourne project. To participate in a discussion just click the "Discussion" tab on the page you're interested in and then click "Edit" to contribute your thoughts. The discussion pages enable you to engage in discussion not only with other public participants, but the Council's Future Melbourne team and city officers.

This opens up the possibility to reach more deep and complex conclusions than the traditional approach of simply leaving a comment on a website, or writing a letter to the City of Melbourne (Although you can still communicate with us in this way if you like. We hope you will take up this valuable opportunity to share your ideas and explore how to better represent your interests in Future Melbourne through discussion with others. For more on how to edit discussion topics, see Participation Policies and Guidelines.

Connecting with a Group

If you would like to connect with others who share common interests and objectives, the Future Melbourne wiki offers group workspaces. To browse existing groups, or to create your own, please see: Connect with a group.

Face to Face

Discuss the plan in person with the Future Melbourne team and learn how to wiki at:

The Atrium, Federation Square
Wednesday 21 May
3pm - 7pm

The Atrium, Federation Square
Saturday 31 May
10am - 1pm

No booking necessary. For more information phone: 03 9658 9658 or email at www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/contactus

Future Scenarios

These short stories have been penned by Steve Bright as a fictional representation of what life might possibly be like in the year 2025. We would like to collaboratively grow these stories and collect your ideas and impressions of the future. You can add or edit detail, or if you prefer, even create your own future scenario.