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When C. Northcote Parkinson first mooted his theory in the pages of the Economist in the mid-1950s, could he perhaps have foreseen how relevant it might be to 21st century public administration? Stated simply, the Law suggests that work expands to fill the time available; a subsequent variation applied to information technology said that data […]

Media coverage of recent events has hardly broken new ground, but it may have reminded readers and viewers how focused we have all become on personalities. True, there is discussion of serious issues – though finding it is a challenge in the red-tops – but both the broadcast media and print journalists appear to be

Consultation is an excellent way to focus on the real issues Media coverage of recent events has hardly broken new ground, but it may have reminded readers and viewers how focused we have all become on personalities. True, there is discussion of serious issues – though finding it is a challenge in the red-tops –

Picture the setting! A motley collection of worthies, no doubt intended to be representative but more likely to be wonderfully atypical and idiosyncratic – are gathered together and earnestly apply themselves to answering the questions posed in the consultation exercise ….! Out comes the faithful flipchart. Let’s brainstorm, says the facilitator….and off we go. Of

The Prime Minister had a bad press the other day! Nothing new in that you may say: but the occasion for criticism might have raised a few eyebrows among those who organise public or stakeholder consultations. The charge against Tony Blair is that he has effectively pre-empted the proper consideration of the Energy Review –

A few days ago, one of the more popular Radio Stations invited a Church of England Vicar to talk about the special prayer he had published. In essence this was an appeal to the Almighty (or, to reflect our multiculturalisms, one of the Almighties) to assist the England team in their quest to win the

  Okay, if the fate of the World Cup had reflected the quality of the merchandising rather than the quality of the football, we might have won……! Yet again, there is good reason to wonder whether we are all too prone to the ephemeral lure of the spin rather than the underlying substance. It’s part of a

One of the most obvious trends in public participation is the movement away from the traditional form of written consultation. Time was when the consultative process meant one of two things – a committee or a big fact document. There were good reasons for this. Joint Standing Committees meant what they said; they were Joint

There is a famous quotation, attributed to Petronius, which talks about the military being organised in teams, and laments that he was to learn from experience that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

How do you kick off a large-scale consultation? Do you write letters to key stakeholders? Send copies of the consultation document to those you know are interested? Send e-mails? Issue a Press Release? Alternatively, do you make a determined effort to secure maximum publicity, generate some razzmatazz, and launch the consultation with a fanfare of