Originally published 20 December 2004. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
Stand by for a dose of pure heresy….
For anyone who truly believes in high-quality consultation, it is axiomatic that it must have integrity; that the consultor genuinely wants to hear the views of consultees, and is prepared to act upon what is said. And yet, there are occasions when the consultation process can achieve as much - without necessarily influencing the eventual decision.
Under some circumstances the consultation acts as a therapy - letting a community of stakeholders participate in a debate which otherwise might not happen. Or maybe the publicity attendant upon a particular consultation can lure into dialogue a whole range of individuals or groups that have never taken part in such an exercise before.
In both cases, consultees get something out of the process that is of value - something other than exerting influence on a decision.
It is possible to view the Labour Party’s Big Conversation possibly as therapy for thousands of members who had not previously had an effective mechanism for taking part in the Party’s policy-making process. If, as reported, Labour has received over 10,000 contributions in response to its initiative, and given that there are 206 questions in its consultation document - making analysis virtually impossible, it may well be that its biggest achievement will have been to engage a much wider range of members in this activity.
But public engagement is an important objective in its own right. Councils throughout the country are rightly worried about declining election turnouts, and attracting the attention of young people is a high priority for municipal authorities trying hard to understand how best to deliver services to various parts of the community. Recent Institute seminars have discussed ways of consulting hard-to-reach groups, and it is becoming clear that public bodies such as Local Authorities, Police and the NHS will need to invest in capacity-building to help particular groups learn how to take part in consultation exercises.
We should never aim just to have a therapeutic consultation. It should be100% genuine. But it is possible to design consultations in ways that make it a therapeutic experience for those that take part. This means making a fuss of organisations we have previously dismissed, or taking the trouble to make it easy for them. On occasions, we may have to pay them ……
The acid test is this. Can consultees walk away from the exercise saying ….We might not have changed the decision - or influenced it very much. But we are so glad to have been part of this process….. we now feel fully engaged … and one day, we’ll really make a difference ..?
Trigger points
- How good an experience will your next consultation be for those who take part?
- Can you make it rewarding - even for those who do not necessarily win the argument?
- Should you consider capacity-building training to motivate groups to participate - or help them learn the skills of responding to consultations?
This is the 12th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement