Consultation with Melbourne’s community is of prime importance to the City of Melbourne. Feedback from consultations is often used in the planning and implementation of Melbourne City Council strategies and plans.
Future Melbourne, a plan for Melbourne that was developed via public consultation with the community, was initiated by the City of Melbourne in 2007 – with a clearly defined vision for Melbourne’s future – to grow Melbourne as a bold, inspirational and sustainable city.
Six goals were devised as a measure of success, these include that Melbourne is:
- a city for people
- a creative city
- an economically prosperous city
- a knowledge city
- an eco-city
- and a connected city.
As part of its Council Plan 2009–2013, council has added two more goals to the community’s Future Melbourne plan, that Melbourne is: a city that leads by example; and a city that manages resources well.
Council Plan 2009–2013 was guided by the vision outlined in Future Melbourne and continues the tradition of the community’s vision for Melbourne. The Council Plan objectives guide the annual planning and budgeting process that determine the activities and initiatives by which the City of Melbourne will work and engage with the business community to ensure that Melbourne is an economically prosperous city.
The Business Consultation Program is just one of the actions undertaken by the City of Melbourne to engage with the business community.