This research investigates organisations' ability to be inclusive. It seeks to isolate the conditions necessary for inclusion of the organisation's publics who identify with disability and who come from a non-English speaking background given they can be estranged. This is achieved through a case study of a service organisation that is obliged to engage with its publics and has a strategy to do so. Data were gathered from the organisation's documentation and interviews with instigators of policies and processes. Feedback from the organisation's clients was collected, focusing on their experience of being engaged and included given norms of inclusion may not be shared. A thematic analysis was undertaken of the data to isolate themes on inclusion. Themes revealed: a culture of inclusion; a policy that encouraged an exchange; and processes established by professionals with expertise to design and promote inclusion beyond their usual publics.

This paper analyses the processes and outcomes of communication by two Australian government departments that used blogs to consult with citizens on a policy that was under development: Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) and Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). The researcher also interviewed managers of the blog process of both departments to secure their feedback. The findings indicate that closed community blogs create excellent conditions for rich policy input, while open blogs (available to all citizens) provide less specific and less useable policy input. This is partially because public blogs are easily skewed off topic by participants who wish to dictate a particular view or as a result of 'the vibe' in the public sphere, affected by media and other people's commentary that can set the agenda for discussion. Nevertheless, open blogs can provide government with a litmus test of the immediate concerns of active members of the public.