Originally published 20 December 2005. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
Before everyone shouts "Get me out of here!", this topic explores those occasions when a Big Name or VIP can help attract publicity for a public consultation.
The starting point is acknowledging that we still face an uphill struggle to secure the degree of public engagement that important local or regional issues deserve. Public policy is seldom exciting, and is usually drowned by the immense reach of the entertainment industry. Rising above their ambient noise-level is difficult. It takes an emotive issue like a hospital closure, a controversial bypass or, maybe, unwelcome housing developments to mobilise large numbers of the public to participate. Yet many other consultations are equally important and need a reasonable degree of participation for legitimacy. There are yet others where particular hard-to-reach groups like the young, or maybe the elderly, need encouragement. If personal endorsements from trusted figures work for washing powder or cars, is there any reason to believe they won't also work in attracting citizens to take part in consultations?
There are successful precedents. When an Inner London Borough ran a consultation on its Neighbourhood Plan a few years ago, it invited a locally based TV chat-show host to chair a debate in a public meeting; it even made a video of the proceedings.
Of course, local civic leaders are themselves 'celebrities' of a kind; not every mayor has Ken Livingstone's high profile, but VIP chat applications are now part of the e-consultation toolbox - and it is perfectly possible to run 'live' discussion forums where the local VIP (Chairman of the Council; Chief Executive; Regional Planning Director, etc.) can answer questions or engage in debate as part of a consultation. Of course, the number of participants in a consultation is not the only measure of success, but where this matters, and where local celebrities are willing to promote a public debate, there is a case for considering this option.
Trigger point
- Identify consultations in the last 12 months which would have benefited from a higher participation level.
- Can you identify local 'celebrities' with a strong sense of civic responsibility?
- Examine the use of VIPchat for Council leaders and Chief Officers (mini-celebs??)
This is the 30th 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