What was the process to create the vision?

    These were the major stages (you can read more about each in the Key Dates section):

    - Only in Hobart: blog posts based on interviews with 214 people from across the city

    - City Forum: a two-day workshop attended by 116 people

    - Wider engagement: including a survey in the City News, which received over 500 responses

    - Stakeholder engagement: including workshops and opportunities for written submissions

    - Community Panel: a group of 46 community members and business people who deliberated on the findings from the previous stages of engagement and helped draft the new vision

    - Drafting the document: the City of Hobart collaborated with the Community Panel to finalise the draft, which was endorsed by the Council Aldermen for wider engagement


    Who was involved in the Only in Hobart interviews?

    We recruited participants using two different research methods - random selection and snowball selection.

    Random selection

    Our aim was to speak with people who come from a range of backgrounds and life stages:

    • People born in Tasmania
    • People who moved to Tasmania from elsewhere
    • Commuters to the city 
    • Visitors to the city
    • People owning businesses that operate in the city

    We wanted to speak with people who we may never have met, who may or may not usually get involved in city governance.

    Just over 100 people were randomly recruited by Enterprise Marketing and Research Services (EMRS). EMRS is a Tasmanian company that provides a range of research services, such as surveys, polls and discussion groups. 

    EMRS conducted a telephone survey that described the project and asked people a series of demographic questions (people could decline to answer):

    • Gender
    • Age (in 10-year brackets)
    • Suburb of residence
    • Born in Tasmania
    • Rent or own place of residence
    • Own a business located in Hobart LGA
    • Work or study in Hobart (as regular place of work or study)
    • Frequency of visitation to Hobart for activities such as shopping, entertainment, to access services, and to socialise
    • Highest level of educational attainment
    • Household composition
    • Employment status
    • Combined annual household income
    • Identifying as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
    • Speak a language other than English at home

    We aimed to get even distribution across gender and age.

    We aimed to get distribution across the Hobart Local Government Area, with some people living in the neighbouring Council areas of Kingborough, Glenorchy, Clarence, Brighton, Huon Valley, and Sorell who also contribute to city life through their lives and work

    We aimed to get a mix of the remaining criteria, so that we could speak to a broad spectrum of people.

    Snowball selection

    In order to make sure we also had diversity of interest areas, we spoke with some people who were also known to Council staff and the project teams, or who were at a degree or two of separation. This is known as snowball selection.

    We focused on thematic areas of:

    • Government
    • Education
    • Creatives
    • Sports and recreation
    • Youth
    • Business
    • Urban and environmental interest
    • Community sector

    These were very broad categories (and most people belonged to more than one) and the list is by no means exhaustive. We aimed to get an even distribution across gender and age, as well as a good spread across the thematic areas. 


    What were the interviews like?

    The interviews were conducted mainly by the project team based outside of Council—the idea being to create a bit of distance between Council and the process so community members could lead the conversation.

    The Council project manager scheduled all interviews and conducted a small number of them, so that people could be aware that it was a genuine Council initiative.

    Interviews lasted for an hour on average. They focused on topics such as:

    • What brought you to Hobart or what has kept you here, if you chose this place?
    • What are you most proud of? Least proud of?
    • If you only had 30 seconds, what would you say is uniquely Hobart?
    • Who and what are some of the people and organisations that have been transformed by Hobart-ness?
    • What are the deep stories and experiences of this place?
    • What could only happen here?
    • What is an example of Hobart when it is not at its best?

    While we had questions we were curious to hear responses to, the conversations were open and unscripted. We drew inspiration from the interviewers’ previous work, as well as PhD Candidate Natasha Chassagne (Swinburne, Centre for Social Impact), who reminded us that, ‘it’s not about what we want to ask but what communities want to say’. This approach opened a space for participants to share a variety of stories, giving us confidence that the themes we heard were a real reflection of people’s experiences of the city.


Written submissions

    How do I provide input on behalf of my organisation?

    There are two ways to contribute to the vision project on behalf of an organisation:

    - writing a letter or email
    - filling out the online survey here, on Your Say.
    In both cases, you need to provide the following (in the online survey, you can provide this information in the additional comments area):
    - name of your organisation
    - your name
    - your position/role in your organisation
    - contact email address, phone number and address
    - any additional organisational representatives signing on to your letter.
    There are a few questions for you to consider and respond to, taking the perspective of your organisation and the stakeholders you work with or represent, which you can find in the survey on the homepage for this project.
    If you are submitting a letter or email, please address the letter 'To the General Manager, City of Hobart', referencing the 'Hobart Vision Project'. 
    You can email your letter to the vision project manager at mcarthurm@hobartcity.com.au.
    If you are making a submission via Your Say, your response will be received by the project team automatically.