We have always regarded a referendum as a form of a consultation – and last week’s excitement illustrated many of the pitfalls familiar to public engagement practitioners. The in/out question has many critics – unsurprisingly mostly from the losing side. But experts have known for years that asking people a binary question is crude, and that is why they are often described […]
Commentators had predicted for a while that the Government was intent on further reducing – if not eliminating – the role of local authorities in running schools. So it was no great surprise when the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan announced their wholesale conversion into academies. What was unexpected, though, was dropping the requirement for Parent
A Referendum is only one form of decision-making and there are other good ideas around! Ever since the Institute began, the first thing taught to members and supporters is the mantra Consultation is not a Vote. Indeed, it was the theme of the first ever Tuesday Topic. But, of course, there are times when major decisions
A few years ago, IPSOS-MORI started publishing comparisons between various statistics of social or political significance and people’s perceptions of the same numbers; they repeated the exercise in many countries. In Britain, as in other countries, there are substantial differences, and the research – called The Perils of Perception is frequently cited by those who
Two weeks ago, the BBC carried the news that the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales had decided that it could not reveal the data emerging from the consultation it has conducted on the subject of sexual ethics. To add spice to the Today programme’s story, it was revealed that the Church in Germany
If you’ve worked in the UK steel industry and are either a pensioner or expect to become one, these are troubling times. Last week, the Government published on one of the more impressive consultations we have seen in recent months, and sought our views on ways to reduce the pension fund’s deficit and thereby make
Least worst – When a consultation explores unpopular options Read More »
The ritual State opening of Parliament obliges Her Majesty to announce the Government’s programme through the traditional Queen’s Speech.  The speculation this year has been that it will focus on such issues as Prisons Reform, Adoption, unmanned drones and driverless cars! The reality is that the processes of public administration continue much the same, whilst
This was the question in an important Judicial Review last week concerning a London Borough. No doubt all the options were viable when the consultation began. But was it lawful for the Council to withdraw some of them when they realised that they were no longer affordable? Was this a breach of the Gunning Principle
What happens if an organisation wants to withdraw options during a public consultation? Read More »
English devolution is gathering pace. The Government is set on supporting devolution to combined local authorities and directly elected mayors across England. Local government is responding with enthusiasm and energy. There are many arguments to be made for this policy though the extent of the devolved powers and the transfer of resources to support these
Democracy must be at heart of English devolution Read More »
People speculate about Donald Rumsfeld’s often-quoted reference to known unknowns and unknown unknowns. According to Wikipedia, the latter term was first used in a D.H.Lawrence poem. Despite this, few people argue against the analysis – and it most certainly applies in the world of public consultation. Let us take the current debate on the forthcoming
Update coming soon
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