“We used EngagementHQ (EHQ) because of the ease of use. We were able to produce a project page within minutes and populate it rapidly as info came in.”
- Success Story
- Shire of Denmark
How Shire of Denmark, in Western Australia, Kept Residents Informed After Bushfires
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Overview
The Shire of Denmark is a local government area located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. With a population of just over 6,000, the Shire is home to a variety of landscapes, seascapes, and waterways. It’s also prone to bushfire risk. In 2022, the community faced a major bushfire emergency, and providing swift, accurate information to residents became of the utmost importance. Local officials used Granicus’ all-in-one digital engagement platform as one of its tools to manage communications.
Project Metrics
- Nearly 70 homes saved
- Information shared in half the time as principal website
- 160 survey responses collected from residents
- Improved communication following disaster events
Must have Granicus Solutions
Situation
Meeting Expectations for Regular Communications
While the Shire of Denmark is a beautiful area with many tourist offerings, it can be a daunting place to be on an extreme fire danger weather day. Residents of the Shire of Denmark are highly engaged with their local government and expect regular communications, especially during times of crisis. Local officials knew that during such incidents, residents would turn to their office rather than the state government.
Staff understood that as a bushfire incident evolved they would need to provide a dynamic information hub for residents. Officials determined that during this emergency, it would be imperative to:
- Expand resident knowledge
- Provide communication regarding recovery services
- Collect recovery feedback to benchmark community satisfaction for future disaster recovery efforts
Results
Enhancing engagement through communication
The Shire of Denmark garnered strong results – both physical and intangible – by using Granicus’ engagement platform. Timely information dissemination was key following the bushfire emergency, as officials were able to communicate in half the time using the digital platform rather than the Shire’s principal website.
Shire officials were also able to gather feedback from residents immediately following the bushfire about how their communications helped or could be improved. The communications team gathered 160 survey responses from residents which helped benchmark community satisfaction and helped improve communication for future disaster events.
“Working with the EHQ platform saves a lot of time and has the capability to help you produce quality content quickly.”