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Those with long memories may remember something called The Pepsi Challenge. Effectively this was a blind test to see whether consumers preferred the taste of traditional Coca-Cola or the fiercely competitive upstart – Pepsi Cola. So damaging was this to Coca Cola that on the strength of overwhelming evidence that Pepsi was preferred, they abandoned […]

In the perfect world, a consultation is organised by people who genuinely want to hear your views so that they can take decisions or review their policies. They will be keen to understand what key stakeholders have to say, and may well make themselves available for direct discussions with them. Of course we all realise

Organising an effective consultation exercise can be a complex project management task. Pulling together the different work packages and ensuring that different disciplines work together to a common timetable or to common standards is challenging. No wonder that project management skills are among the most useful attributes for someone entrusted with consultation on any significant

Not all public participation or consultation is a one-off exercise. It is true that much that is most visible reflects the most extensive, wide-ranging dialogues, accompanied by appropriately high wide and handsome press coverage. But away from the glare of publicity much of the day-to-day public consultation takes the form of repetitive activities where public

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 –