Multi-layered information - “A little learning is a dangerous thing” (attributed Pope, 1709)

Two recent experiences with current controversial NHS consultations illustrate the complexities of providing the right amount of information for the public.

But first, the basics. The Courts now follow a well-established set of rules and the second of the four “Gunning principles” states that the organisers of consultations have to provide enough information as would enable those who respond to be able to give intelligent consideration to its proposals. It can be an onerous task. Many judicial reviews have succeeded because judges were not convinced that consultees were told enough ...or told the truth. So everyone who has to plan a consultation has to make decision about how much information to publish - and how.

In the first case, the NHS printed hundreds of copies of a full and comprehensive document – in all 70 pages of well-written, well-argued, suitably illustrated text packed with graphs, diagrams maps and case studies. It takes two hours to read, and that’s when someone is familiar with such papers. Recognising that relatively few of the half million residents potentially interested in the subject will have the time or inclination to wade through 15,000 words, it has produced a more readable eight page leaflet complete with questionnaire, and this has been delivered to over 200,000 households. Even this contains 3,000 words and is probably beyond the inclination of much of the population to absorb. It takes clever people to select the right messages and present them effectively in such documents.

In the second case, we were discussing how best to present complex traffic modelling data in a consultation paper. Consider the challenge. Making changes to long-standing hospital locations affects travel patterns and, in the current case, experts have compiled a 100-page report full of important data. But how to summarise this in two or three pages? Does one use average travel time? Or is it better to use the 95% percentile figures? But what the heck does that mean? Maybe we should use a map? And so forth.

Underlying all these – and pervading all consultation planning – is the obvious point that it is virtually impossible to provide the right level of information for everyone. One person’s intelligent consideration is seldom like another’s. And we recognise that stakeholders vary so much – from leading international experts in their field across to less educated residents or those with physical or other disadvantages. No wonder we need the professional skills of communications specialists, and no surprise, therefore, to see many organisations co-locating the engagement/consultation functions alongside their communications teams. Within the Institute, we have recognised that despite the clear differences between the functions, they have to be very close; hence our announcement of the tie-up with the University of Huddersfield. Note that the Centre we are launching on 12th June is for Communications and Consultation Research.

In all this, technology is a genuine game-changer. We can now offer online consultees an almost infinite choice of information. This is the age of the empowered citizen who, to the discomfort of civil servants or local government officers can, if they choose, spend all day investigating every conceivable aspect of a public body’s proposals. Just consider how extensive the range of D-I-Y research can be. There are not just the current proposals; there may be masses of background material, working papers, published correspondence between organisations and of course comments by other stakeholders.

The point is that people choose for themselves the level of information they wish to obtain. Those who run a consultation have little or no idea who knows what. If you organise a public meeting, you don’t know if the elderly gentleman who has just walked in is relatively unaware of the issues or alternatively has spent a week reading about nothing else. One of the attractions of the structured deliberative event was the notion that, before asking people’s opinions, there is the opportunity to let everyone hear a standard presentation or read the same material with the aim of putting them all on an approximately equal footing. No longer can we assume this.

Three consequences flow from this analysis, and they all have operational significance for consultation professionals:- 1. There is a relationship between the questions we ask and the knowledge-level of the respondent; indeed some questions make no sense unless the respondent has a certain minimum understanding of the issues. 2. It means less one-size-fits-all, ask-everyone consultations and more focused dialogues with different groups defined as much by what they have learnt as who they are. 3. The precise choice of what information to make available and how to package it becomes rather important, and the well-informed will place a premium on websites that explain well what’s available, and offer easy navigation around the choice.

But most importantly, the quality control of available information must improve. Double-checking every word of a consultation document may prove inadequate if the supporting materials are riddled with errors. Pope said that “a little learning is a dangerous thing” in 1709. He could so easily have been talking about consultations in 2013!

Trigger Point

• To what extent does your organisation provide consultees with a satisfactory menu of available information on the issues covered in a consultation?
• Institute members and friends are welcome at the launch of the Huddersfield Centre for Communications & Consultation Research on 12th June where some of the issues covered in this Topic will be considered. Call Jan Warner on 01767 318350 for details.
• The Gunning Principles feature strongly in our Law of Consultation courses. Next dates are:- 20th June (Manchester), 10th September (London) and 6th November (Birmingham). For more details click here
• Some of the issues surrounding public meetings and deliberative events are covered in the new training course Public Meetings and the Alternatives. Next dates are 19th June (London), 2nd July (Birmingham), 3rd October (Bedfordshire). For more details click here

This is the 236th 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