Let's go fly a…… Kite-mark? – Is it time to establish a quality standard for Public and stakeholder consultations?

There comes a point in most areas of life where the amateur gives way to the professional, and where the rich diversity of people re-inventing the wheel every time yields to common standards.

It is not always a good thing, and one of the characteristics of today’s post-modern culture is that we appreciate the value of this diversity.

In consultation terms, it has led to a huge range of dialogue methods and an infinite variety of consultation processes. There is no shortage of new methods to try; and some consultancy firms give the impression that they can develop a new methodology every month. Some of them even work!