After the consultation … – A preview of the Institute’s new set of ‘Implementation engagement standards’

So the consultation is over; the data is analysed; feedback has been published and a final decision has now been taken.

For those whose lives are much involved with the processes of consultation and engagement, it may well be time to express a sigh of relief, or maybe move on to the next project. But of course it may well be far from the end of the story; this could just be the beginning. After all, some of our most important public consultations are about major initiatives of enormous scale and significance. Think High-Speed Two, a Nuclear power station, reconfigured hospital services or new Government policies. For such projects, the consultation is – to use a famous phrase – “the end of the beginning”