The Glass House Mountains Village Centre Place Co-Lab Pilot Project is a pilot project and partnership between Sunshine Coast Council and the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). We are combining local knowledge and skills to problem solve and co-create solutions to make places more inclusive, sustainable, and liveable.

The project will pilot the Sunshine Coast Community Co-Lab model that brings together community members, staff and students from the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), and Sunshine Coast Council in a cooperative process developed to understand, evidence and evaluate placemaking opportunities and activation ideas for a particular place, which in this case is Glass House Mountains.

The project provides an opportunity for up to twenty UniSC students from multi-disciplinary areas to engage in a process of work integrated learning that enables action, evaluation, and reflection for heightened professional growth and development. Students will collect perceptions about the qualities that are important to the Glass House Mountains community and undertake field work to identify additional environmental, economic, and social aspects of the community.

The findings from this project will allow for greater understanding and insights of the qualities the community of Glass House Mountains value about their place. These insights will help to inform future urban design opportunities and placemaking activities for Glass House Mountains that may be undertaken by the Sunshine Coast Council.

Between 10 October and 4 November 2022, the Sunshine Coast community were asked to have their say by:

• Completing an online survey; or
• Registering their interest in attending the community presentation event.

Between 21 November and 25 November 2022, the project and student team was based in the Glass House Mountains Community Hall. Across these days the project team and students:

• Explored the Sunshine Coast Place approach and established the context, character, identity, and values of Glass House Mountain Village Centre
• Collected and collated a range of desktop and on-site data to support Council strategic policy directions
• Undertook a community engagement day and workshop lunch in Glass House Mountains
• Began the process of data analysis and the identification of ideas and opportunities
• Undertook a vision working session developing design opportunities
• Presented these opportunities at an event and celebration in the Glass House. Mountains community.

A community engagement and student report has been prepared on the Glass House Mountain Place Co-Lab project. This report is offered to the Glass House Mountains community and the Sunshine Coast Council as a resource to help inform future placemaking and urban design outcomes for the Glass House Mountains Village Centre.

Sunshine Coast Council wish to recognise and appreciate all the efforts from the community, students and stakeholders that went into this very exciting place study project for the Glass House Mountains.

As is widely appreciated when dealing with the construction industry at work or home, the increased cost and reduced availability of materials and labour (trades) is presenting some challenges which has led to a review of council's placemaking project. The Glass House Mountains Placemaking project will be reviewed and considered for a future delivery program.

Council can assure the community, students and stakeholders that all of the great work and inspiring ideas have been captured and will inform a refresh of this project when it is rescheduled. A further update on the project’s design and construction timing will be communicated to businesses and residents upon a confirmed recommencement date – stay tuned!

The Sunshine Coast Community Co-Lab model furthers the collaborative Regional Partnership Agreement between council and UniSC, from research and planning to action and implementation, through a model of Excellence in Engagement. It provides an opportunity for:

• The Sunshine Coast community to grow social capital and capacity and develop collaborative responses to address local challenges and opportunities

• UniSC students to engage in a process of work integrated learning that enables action, evaluation, and reflection for heightened professional development

• UniSC to facilitate action research learning for students; deliver research publications related to the pilot project and evaluate the process and outcomes

• Council to collaborate in the delivery of its strategic priorities and to facilitate innovation through participatory engagement and transfer of knowledge and shared leadership; and

• Establishing an evidenced based, and best practice research approach to the collection of local community insights and data.

The survey is now closed.

University of the Sunshine Coast ethics approval number - A221782.

Enquiries

If you have any enquiries in relation to the survey or the research project you can contact the research team:

Research Team Contact Details

Nicholas Stevens

University of the Sunshine Coast

Email: nstevens@usc.edu.au

Telephone: 5459 4453

Community Planning & Engagement Team

Sunshine Coast Council

Email: engage@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au

Telephone: 5475 7272

To conclude the community engagement component of the Glass House Mountains Village Centre Place Co-Lab Pilot Project, Sunshine Coast Council and UniSC will co-host a community presentation event on 25 November 2022 (2pm-4pm).

The students involved in the project will present the findings from their community engagement and research work. This event will provide an opportunity for the community to provide feedback on the identified key needs, place design ideas and opportunities for the Glass House Mountains Village Centre.

Online registrations for the Community Presentation Event closed on 4 November 2022.