The CBF is committed to actively consulting with the community broadcasting sector and other stakeholders to ensure that our grant programs and processes are responsive to sector needs, and to encourage cooperation and collaboration within the sector.
The community broadcasting sector is by nature, a very diverse sector. In framing this policy, the CBF aspires to give real opportunities for the diverse voices, opinions and perspectives within the community broadcasting sector to be heard, while balancing this with the necessity for the CBF to effect practical outcomes within reasonable timeframes.
We strive to achieve this by increasing communication and awareness of our efforts in accordance with this policy, the CBF’s Strategic Plan, purpose and values.
Purpose
This Consultation Policy is intended to provide a framework to bring together the different methods of consultation, to provide context and guidance in relation to the CBF’s values of ‘independence’ and being ‘responsive’, and to clarify the relevant stakeholders, timeframes and responsibilities involved in consultation.
Policy
The CBF commits itself to consulting with its stakeholders through:
- Our Board, Committee and Grant Assessor Team membership: our funding decisions employ peer review processes; the voluntary involvement of experienced community broadcasters and industry experts is at the heart of how we operate.
- Sector Representative Organisations (SROs): in most cases, the CBF considers it impractical to consult directly with Stations (around 460) or Broadcasters (around 24,000) given the sheer weight of numbers involved, and instead utilises the existing sector representative structures and consults with relevant national Sector Representative Organisations (SROs) prior to the introduction of any significant changes to funding policies and practices. This consultation can take place formally or informally, depending on the context. Submissions received through formal consultation are published together with the finalised CBF position on the issue, unless confidentiality is requested.
- Sector Projects: further consultation with the wider community broadcasting sector is largely managed through sector projects (Amrap, CBOnline, National Training Project and Digital Radio Project). These consultations include formal and informal direct station/broadcaster feedback and consultative committees.
- Direct feedback: the CBF also receives direct station/broadcaster feedback through focus groups, formal correspondence and informal interactions which are filtered through to Committees where appropriate.
- Indirect feedback: further consultation comes through sector research, including the National Listener Survey and Station Census, and regular independent reviews of our grant programs and sector projects.
When considering changes to grant programs, the Sector Investment Advisory Committee should consider how to best consult with the sector, and make its consultation plans available to the Board.
All formal consultation advice is considered by the relevant Committee and/or the Board and acted upon where it is considered appropriate and practical to do so.
The CBF will consider the views, opinions, and perspectives tendered through its consultation mechanisms but is under no obligation to act on the advice so provided.
Correspondence that a reasonable person would consider to be frivolous, vexatious or malicious in nature will not be considered by the CBF.
Date of approval by Board: 16 August 2013, 10 November 2016 and November 2022. Download the CBF Consultation Policy including Consultation Procedures (PDF, 518KB). Please contact us if you require a Microsoft Word version of this document.