People across the Highlands are being invited to play a greater role in shaping local decisions following the launch of a new online platform designed to make it easier to take part in consultations and community engagement.
The Highland Council officially launched Engage Highland on Monday 22 June, describing it as a major step forward in how residents, community groups and visitors can share their views on issues affecting their areas.
The new platform brings together consultations, surveys and engagement projects in a single online space, allowing users to quickly see what proposals are open for comment and how they can get involved.
For those who choose to register, the platform offers additional features including interactive mapping, voting tools and personalised alerts that notify users when consultations are launched in specific locations or on topics that interest them.
One of the key aims is to improve the feedback process by allowing people to see what decisions have been made following consultations and understand the reasons behind them.
The launch comes as councils and public bodies continue to look for better ways of engaging with communities and ensuring local voices are heard before decisions are taken.
Chair of The Highland Council’s Communities and Place Committee, Councillor Graham MacKenzie, said:
“The launch of our new engagement platform marks an important step forward in how we listen to and engage with our communities.
“The platform makes it easier for residents to have their say, share their ideas, and help shape the decisions that affect their lives.
“We’re committed to making consultation more accessible, transparent and inclusive, ensuring every voice can be heard.”
The first consultation to go live on the platform focuses on travel between Inverness and Scotland’s Central Belt.
Residents are being asked to share their experiences of longer distance journeys to destinations including Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the council seeking views on what improvements could make travel easier, more convenient and better connected in future.
The survey is expected to take around 10 minutes to complete and forms part of wider efforts to understand transport challenges facing people across the Highland region.
For many Highland residents, travelling to the Central Belt remains a regular part of life for work, education, healthcare, family visits and leisure, making transport links an issue that affects communities across a vast geographical area.
Councillor MacKenzie said:
“I encourage people to register on the new platform as this will allow them to sign up for alerts about the consultations that are most relevant and important to them and to view online and in-person engagement events at a glance.
“Although the new platform will be a fantastic addition to our consultation tools, it does not fully replace other forms of engagement such as drop-in sessions and focus groups.
“Our Participation and Engagement Strategy consultation showed that people want to influence and shape the decisions that affect them and so we will continue to utilise all forms of engagement to ensure communities have the confidence and means for early engagement and to encourage community involvement wherever possible.”
The council says the platform is intended to complement rather than replace traditional consultation methods, with face to face events and community meetings continuing to play an important role in gathering local views across the Highlands.
Any current or ongoing consultations can still be viewed here
