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With PricewaterhouseCoopers reporting 80% of high-street stores offering unseasonably early Sales, we have turned our eagle-eye on the effects of the credit crunch on public consultations. And, in keeping with […]

We’re in danger of getting into something of a tangle about the different kinds of democracy we want. The old tried-and-tested representative version is thought by many to be creaking;

Any day now a new Planning Bill will receive the Royal Assent. Commons rebellions have been quelled; Lords opposition has evaporated and economic and financial woes have wiped it off

The great advantage of one-off consultations is that the period during which something unexpected can intervene is limited! In reality, however, many of the dialogues that take place do so

So much has been written about this seemingly-trivial digression from serious news that it seems an indulgence to delve further into it for a Tuesday Topic. However, it presents such

Public engagement is not recession-proof. There are those who argue that global economic meltdown, failing banks, and stock market freefalls create a situation that cries out for greater citizen involvement.

In a world where consultation fatigue is a real issue – and organisations have to work hard to get citizens and stakeholders interested – it may be surprising to note

For those whose lot it is to consult the public at large – rather than identifiable stakeholder organisations, there has always been a nagging issue. How do we know that

The ability to elicit people’s views through new technology has many advantages. It is a form of mass publishing that lets the audience decide whether or not they want to

Our mature democracy has taken against political practitioners. They compete with estate agents and tabloid journalists for the wooden spoon of professional popularity, and our media delights in pouring scorn