Frequently Asked Questions

We are

  • An independent project that is entirely conceived and run by, and for, the community’s benefit;

  • Beholden only to the community and community inputs;

  • Here to listen to what each other has to say about challenges to our lifestyle and livelihoods and how these could be improved;

  • Committed to receiving all and any community members’ opinions or ideas as possibilities for improvement;

  • Employing experts to work for us all, so that, as a community, we will have:

    • An avenue to share and exchange knowledge with each other;

    • A method to present ideas and demonstrate how the situation might be improved for the whole community; and

    • A way to create a pathway to making improvements happen (because, we have broad community acceptance of ideas).

We are not

  • Instructed by the Victorian government.

  • ‘Decision-makers’ and will not make recommendations on behalf of the community.

  • Here to tell anyone what to think or what to do.

What we ask of you

  • Your honest and thoughtful opinions; and

  • Your experience, knowledge and understanding of Port Phillip Bay

FAQs

  • There is no such thing as a silly idea. However, some ideas (even ones thought of by leading experts) may be either i) unworkable; or ii) make little to no difference to community values. For the first time, our model enables us to work this out, as a community, so we can make strong and evidence-based recommendations for change.

  • Until recently, there wasn’t the technical capacity to put together a cost-effective model that would process this kind of knowledge. It’s also because, without a community-led process like this, it’s impossible to use such a model to unlock the opportunities for restoring the Bay.

  • No-one has ever run a community-designed and led project like this before. There are no government policymakers or scientists in this project, telling us what to think.

  • We know that it’s impossible to exact change without this process. Normally ideas pit one sector of the community against another, creating competition for ideas and resources. This project allows us to identify the most significant multilateral opportunities, which are far more likely to get support, as they represent consensus. How quickly things happen is another matter. As a community, we have to be careful not to have a negative impact on another part of our community, while things are changing. That can take time.

  • The most important changes are going to benefit everyone. This process is about identifying ways everyone can benefit. This is easier than we think, it’s just never been done. We differ, as we are community led.

  • Once this project is complete, the information we have gathered, will be free for our community to access. It is our hope that we will build on this knowledge, including following up to measure change and further empower communities to  gain support for even more positive restoration work.