Season 6, Episode 1 - Has Community Engagement Stopped Being Bold?

Season 6, Episode 2 - Artificial Intelligence (AI) In The Room

AI has entered the room - or at least, it's entered the sector. In this episode, Becky Hirst and co-host Dan Ferguson sit down with Lisa Ippolito to talk about what AI actually means for community engagement, with a particular focus on local government (though there's plenty here for anyone doing this work, anywhere). This is Episode 2 of a six-part series building toward our white paper, Engaged or Obsolete? Each episode adds another voice and another layer - and this one digs into the question underneath all the hype: if AI gives us time back, what do we do with it? The argument we keep landing on is that the future of community engagement is more human, not less - AI as enabler, not replacement. Across the conversation, we get into: * What genuine AI capability building looks likeinside a council - moving people from hesitation to confidence through clear policies, practical examples, and strong safeguards * The four types of AI users in any workforce (non-adopters, novices, explorers, power users) and why each is held back by something different - and why sending a non-adopter a "how to prompt better" webinar lands as an insult * Why some of the most thoughtful people opt outof AI on ethical grounds - and why that's a principled choice, not a skills gap * What community engagement practitioners are mostanxious about, and whether that anxiety is well-founded * Using AI to pressure-test survey design beforeyou go to community - generating dummy data to check whether your questions are leading or biased * The ethics of synthetic audiences: helpful for testing, dangerous when they start replacing real community voices * Communities now using AI to engage with us - including the Bondi Junction residents who built their own AI tool to help neighbours have their say * The authentication problem: how do we know feedback is coming from real residents, and what that means for digital participation * Why we need to slow down even as we're all being pushed to speed up - because trust, once lost, is hard to win back About our guest - Lisa Ippolito Lisa Ippolito leads the exploration of AI in local government at Whitehorse City Council - testing tools, building practicalresources, and learning alongside other curious minds. She's developed Whitehorse's AI guidelines for responsible use, run hands-on workshops, built a central resource hub, and created a safe, supportive Collaboration Network where staff can explore, ask questions and share what's working. Right now she's leading a whole-of-organisation AI capability and uplift program, supporting more than 100 leaders through workshops, use-case pilots and tailored training. What excites her most is helping teams move from hesitation to confidence - grounded in clear policies, practical examples and strong safeguards. Beyond Whitehorse, Lisa co-leads the LGPro AI Enablement Special Interest Group and ALGIM's AI, Web and Digital Community of Practice, and she's a regular speaker on responsible AI adoption and practical local government use cases. Her philosophy: learning is most enjoyable when shared - whether you're an AI sceptic, an enthusiast, or somewhere in between. The report Lisa has just launched AI Adoption in Victorian Local Government - Sector Baseline Report 2026 (LGPro + Whitehorse City Council) - the first sector-wide baseline of AI adoption across Victorian local government, drawing on responses from around 2,500 staff across 22 councils. You can find it on the LGPro website [https://lgpro.client.trfg.au/news/news/the-first-ai-benchmark-for-councils-released/]. Connect with Lisa LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ippolitolisa/] is the best place to find her.

Season 6, Episode 1 - Has Community Engagement Stopped Being Bold?

Welcome to Season 6 of For the Love of Community Engagement - and to a brand new chapter for the podcast. Host Becky Hirst introduces her co-host for the season, Dan Ferguson (Founder & CEO of ⁠Communiti Labs⁠ [https://www.communitilabs.com/]), as the two join forces to explore The Future of Community Engagement across six episodes and a co-authored white paper. In this first episode, Becky and Dan are joined by Mel Hagedorn, Client Executive at ⁠Capire⁠ [https://capire.com.au/] and board member of the ⁠Engagement Institute⁠ [https://engagementinstitute.org.au/], for a conversation that gets straight to it: has the sector lost its boldness - and if so, why? Together they trace the shift from rich community conversation to data collection at scale, unpack why practitioners so often find their hands tied despite their best intentions, and ask what it would actually look like to do engagement differently. From the dominance of the survey as a default tool, to the untapped potential of AI for genuine listening, to a future where communities own their own conversations - this episode is a provocation, not a prescription. In this episode: * Why declining trust scores may signal a sector going through the motions * The hidden cost of bold engagement - and why doing it well can actually punish practitioners * What "engagement theatre" really means, and how to move beyond it * The case for getting back to face-to-face, street-level, conversation-first practice * Becky's vision: voice-noting your council. Dan's: sitting on the sidelines, listening in. "The future of engagement is not about getting more people in the room or more people to complete the survey. It's about creating the conditions where people's involvement genuinely matters." - Mel Hagedorn

Season 5, Episode 4 - My Breast Cancer Story (So far)

In this deeply personal episode, I share my breast cancer story - from the first symptoms and diagnosis, through mastectomy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment, to the eve of my second mastectomy. I talk honestly about the shock of hearing the word “cancer,” navigating the public health system, saying goodbye to “lefty” in a waiting-room poem, and being wheeled into theatre singing Fame. I reflect on recovery, prostheses, radiation, and the strange emotional milestones that follow treatment - including finishing without a bell to ring. I explore identity. What does it mean to be feminine without breasts? Why is reconstruction often assumed? And why am I choosing to remove my second breast and live flat? This isn’t a pink-ribbon story. It’s honest, reflective, sometimes funny, sometimes raw - and still unfolding. This is my breast cancer story. So far.

Season 5, Episode 3: From Surviving to Thriving - Midlife, Menopause & Health with Sadie Goddard-Wrighton

In this unfiltered fireside chat, Sadie Goddard-Wrighton and I chat after nearly two decades of friendship - recorded at my home with a child in pyjamas, a barking dog, plenty of laughter, and absolutely no pretence. From our beginnings in local government, the conversation opens into something much deeper: midlife, menopause, breast cancer, identity shifts, and the quiet pressure so many women feel to keep holding it all together. Sadie shares her journey into menopause and wellbeing coaching, and together we explore what it means to let go of perfection, accept change, and keep moving forward with compassion, humour, and honesty. A real conversation for any woman navigating life’s messy middle. Grab a cup of tea and join us.  Who is Sadie Goddard-Wrighton? Sadie Goddard-Wrighton is an HCANZA accredited Health and Wellness Coach and Menopause Coaching Specialist supporting women in midlife to navigate stress, overwhelm, and life transitions with clarity and confidence. Through coaching, workshops and events, Sadie helps women reconnect with what matters most, weaving everyday wellbeing - movement, rest, nourishment and reflection - into real life with warmth, honesty and compassion.

Season 5, Episode 2 - The Advocate in My Pocket: How ChatGPT Is Empowering Health Consumers

In this fireside chat, Becky Hirst is joined by AI strategist and health consumer advocate, Tessa Kowaliw, for a real, human conversation about how ChatGPT is quietly transforming the patient experience. From the birth stories that sparked Tessa’s lifelong advocacy, to the recent accident that left her with broken bones and a hospital stay, Becky and Tessa explore how a digital co-pilot can help us document our story once, ask smarter questions, interpret information, stay connected and feel more in control of our own care. Becky shares her own examples of using ChatGPT through cancer treatment and parenting, as the pair unpack what it means to walk into healthcare with a “robot advocate” already in your pocket - and why health systems must urgently keep up. A hopeful, practical insight into the future of being a patient, where compassion, lived experience and technology work together.