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Glossary U V W Y

User Panels	User Panels are regular meetings of service users about the quality of a service or other related topics. They help to identify the concerns and priorities of service users and can lead to the early identification of problems or ideas for improvements.
Usual Suspects	Has become a term of denigration for people who habitually give time and effort to what they see as their civic responsibilities
Verification	A process of assessing compliance with a set of standards or agreed objectives.
Video Box	A booth similar to a photo booth where people can go to record their views on particular topics. Originally used in the Channel 4 Right to Reply programme.
VIP Chat	A site on the internet where a number of users can communicate in real time (typically dedicated to one particular topic) with a named individual, for example, Ken Livingstone, or a senior council official.
Visioning	Bringing together stakeholders for visualising a shared future for a community, with the aim of arriving at a goal acceptable to all. See also Backcasting Also known as Community Visioning
Vital Villages	See Parish Plans
Volunteering	Informal volunteering is defined as giving unpaid help as an individual to people who are not relatives. Formal volunteering is classed as giving unpaid help through groups, clubs, organisations or their employer to benefit other people or the environment.

Webcasts	Technique being used with increasing frequency on Local Authority websites to promote services including consultations. See also DigiTV
Weighting	The process by which data is adjusted to reflect a known population profile.
Workshops	See Issues Workshops
Written Consultations	Provide a formal method by which stakeholders can comment on proposals and policies. See also Documentary Consultation

Youth Forums

Young people are often unlikely to participate in consultation events. Youth Forums, groups already running under different platforms, provide a ready-made mechanism for involving them.