Governance matters - We pay too little attention to the governance of public consultation

Organising a public consultation on any significant scale requires project management skills. It is a project, with the need to co-ordinate a range of different activities, both sequentially or in parallel – and with all the inter-relationships. There’s a need to acquire resources and deploy them properly. There are sensitive political and timing considerations, and it needs good leadership.

But none of this works if there is confusion at the heart of the project. That is why governance matters and why there is probably a need to think seriously about this little-discussed subject. We have seen too many situations where a perfectly good consultation has failed to deliver its intended outcomes because of failures in this area. Nothing can be more frustrating for consultation professionals than running an effective exercise and then find that those for whom it was organised struggle to make use of what’s been learnt.

There are three reasons why governance of a consultation can be challenging

1. A consultation is often but one activity in an extensive programme of change. Think of major hospital reconfigurations, or massive infrastructure developments like High Speed Rail or a Nuclear Power Station. The consultation project governance will almost certainly reflect the culture and values of that ‘parent’ programme. If that is pursuing confused (or conflicting) objectives, or is corrupt, biased, incompetent or just badly led, it is likely to contaminate the consultation project. Conversely, a thoroughly professional, high-integrity initiative has a better chance of launching a good consultation.
2. The objective of a consultation is to conduct a lawful, fair and transparent process. It is not to achieve a substantive outcome. This is difficult for professionals whose salaries are paid for by owners, clients or Programme Managers (per 1) whose purpose may well be legitimate and clear-cut. To protect those who operate a consultation from pressures that might lead them to weaken the integrity of the consultation, a strong project governance structure is valuable.
3. Public confidence in consultation is lower than it needs to be. In part this is because levels of public trust in politicians, civil servants and the agencies of state are themselves low. It is all about accountability, knowing who is responsible and what motivates or influences them. Opaque decision-making processes, with unclear linkage to the listening exercise that may have preceded it is a recipe for further disillusionment.

It is one thing however, to agree upon the importance of a sound governance structure. But is it possible to devise a universally usable model?

At this stage, maybe not, because consultation occurs in so many different environments.

But here are some characteristics of good governance that we may all need to consider when looking afresh at this aspect:

• Clear identification of the Project Sponsor – normally the organisation that initiates and funds the consultation. There may be more than one, so be clear who’s in overall charge.
• Establish whether there is a separate governance structure (Project Board, Steering Committee, Consultation Committee etc) for the consultation itself, and if so, ensure it is fully transparent.
• Where there are multiple sponsors or key stakeholders, clarify their involvement in the Project.
• Share the full terms of reference with clarity on how these translate into the scope (or Mandate) for the consultation itself.
• Include an independent element in the governance process, or alternatively for those in charge to receive the benefit of independent advice or quality assurance.
• Adopt a clear decision-making protocol including the identification of voting and non-voting members of any governance structure.

In the coming months, the Institute expects to add a Governance dimension to its Quality Assurance process, and the new combined Partners in Consultation Excellence Scheme already makes provision for this. It is also included in the new Preparing for a Public Consultation training course.

In the meantime, we hope to stimulate some research into how consultation projects are currently governed, and we will invite Institute members to contribute their ideas about best practice. Much has been done to make public consultations operationally more effective. Now may be the time to ensure that their governance can withstand scrutiny.

TRIGGER POINTS

• What governance arrangements exist for public consultations in your organisation?
• Are accountability routes clear and adequate?
• Share your current methods of consultation governance. Remmert Keijzer would like to hear from you – hello@consultationinstitute.org
• The training course Preparing for a Public Consultation will be run in Birmingham on 2 December and will be considering some of the issues covered in this Topic
• The new Partners in Consultation Excellence Scheme may be of interest to organisations currently observing – or wishing to observe best practice! Details from Jan Warner or Rhidian Jones at the Institute on 01767 318350
• Watch out for a forthcoming Webinar on the subject of Best Practice Governance for Public Consultations.

This is the 283rd 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.