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Our thoughts this week are undoubtedly with tens of thousands of residents in Gloucestershire and elsewhere, who, as this topic is being written are flooded out, without drinking water, and maybe without electricity. A month ago it was Hull and Sheffield; a few years ago it was York and Carlisle. So how much discussion has […]

In England, the Local Government Minister has thrown a substantial grenade towards a large number of Councils by announcing nine successful bids for Unitary status, and thereby sealing the fate of over 30 District Councils. The creation of new Unitary Authorities for Cornwall, Durham, Northumberland, Shropshire, Wiltshire, Ipswich and Exeter will delight many who see

One of the biggest trends in consultation is away from the big fat document and towards participative events. These come in different shapes and sizes and sport a variety of titles from consultation seminars or workshops to full-blown Stakeholder Conferences. Most, if not all these, will involve a participative element or breakout session. Unfortunately these

Major re-generation projects these days are always the subject of consultation, and the same goes for less comprehensive urban re-development. Other changes to our communities are also supposed to be preceded by public debate; this covers proposed alterations to policing, schools, health centres or hospitals. So, assiduous residents or local representative organisations who have their

Last Friday was the closing date for the consultation held on “Effective consultation” – or how the Government itself, and its agencies should manage their consultations. The debate has covered many important aspects. Should the current Code of Practice be replaced by something more flexible? What kind of monitoring should take place? Should all consultations

We’re at a curious point in the adoption of new technology for public or stakeholder participation. Many organisations have intelligently dabbled; most can now boast a passable attempt to list their consultations on their websites and an increasing number offer us the chance to contribute our comments online. But compared to the range of clever

Were all consultations simple Yes/No votes, life would probably be simpler. Dumbed-down, maybe; but without doubt simpler! In reality, however, policy-making at all levels is complex and there are shades of opinion or nuances of approach which are seldom picked up when we opt for over-simplistic dialogues. The truth is that consultees often want to

If you’re among the titans of British business – or even merely a Government Minister – your acolytes gather around and solemnly advise that you should hold sensitive meetings on your own “territory”. This, they say, gives you a psychological advantage and makes the others acknowledge your position. Selecting the right venue can exercise a

Focus Groups – among those responsible for organising public participation or consultation, their popularity is beyond question. Along with surveys and questionnaires, they are the most often quoted technique used in the public sector today. But are they always used in the right way or at the right time? Commercial concerns use Focus Groups to