The University of Tasmania is consolidating its presence in Hobart’s CBD. Such a big move needs lots of careful thought and discussion. The Uni wants to have as much input as possible on this important decision.
The idea behind The Shake Up is to provide room for an unvarnished conversation between the Uni and the community about how to make its City University precinct a success.
A Community Panel of 67 people was established to provide ideas and feedback. To ensure robust discussion, Panel members were deliberately recruited based on their current views about the move. These views ranged from those who actively oppose the move through to those who think it’s a great idea, and everything in-between.
The Community Panel also comprised a broad range of people representative of the Hobart community. This included Uni students and staff, school students and parents/caregivers (i.e. hopefully future Uni students), residents and city workers. These people also intentionally had mixed gender, age, cultural background and ability.
This is where URPS comes in. Together with Hobart creative agency The20, our engagement team led by Nicole Halsey facilitated a series of events where the Community Panel came together to discuss the move.
In shaking things up by bringing together those known to have disparate opinions, we believe that the Uni will make its Hobart City University precinct the best it can be.
