Originally published 20 December 2004. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
Consultation papers are in danger of being too PR-driven.
Recent examples arriving at Institute offices have been the usual mixed bag of plain and glossy, but if there is a trend, it seems to be towards spending more on presentation. In one way this is to be welcomed. If we want stakeholders and the general public to take the exercise seriously, we owe it to them to present the arguments professionally and attractively. Better design should lead to more reader-friendly publications, and this, in turn should encourage more and better responses.
On the other hand, producing lavish consultation documents merely reinforces the existing in-built bias in favour of the more established, well-resourced stakeholders who can afford to employ staff who can respond to these weighty documents. Such tasks are often beyond smaller, community-based or voluntary bodies. Hard-to-reach consultees, for example, are often intimidated by the jargon and complexity of policy proposals sent out by public sector bodies. Hence they perceive the process of consultation as biased against them.
The answer is to reduce our dependence on traditional consultation documents - no matter how "sexed up", and to start using a range of dialogue methods which are suitable for a wider selection of stakeholders. There is no shortage of such methods - but we have insufficient numbers of staff trained in their application. And there is uncertainty as to what to use in different circumstances.
Stated simply, the consultation methods we use can influence the output of the exercise - and bias it in one direction or another. It is therefore the responsibility of consultors to ensure a balanced mix of dialogue methods, and the use of techniques that help, not hinder particular groups to be heard properly.
Trigger points
- Analyse the last 5 consultations and assess the extent to which the mix of methods gave everyone an equal opportunity to participate
- Calculate what % of the consultation budget goes on producing and distributing documents
- Ask your stakeholders what methods they prefer
This is the 14th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement