Rhion Jones reflects on current priorities.

Two weeks ago, I contributed to a morning event attended by almost eighty officers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It was called the Community Engagement Network, and in addition to myself, they heard from Florence Obinna of LB of Hackney – a very experienced and highly regarded practitioner who provided a really instructive case study. Breakout sessions followed along with the inevitable Questions and Answers. Do these sessions sound familiar?

They are not new. Assembling relevant staff to chew over the latest thinking in public consultation and engagement has long been a favourite technique of information exchange and motivation in large organisations. Of course, these were traditional style meetings, and required people to leave their desks and convene together. Great for catching up with colleagues, and even better to make new introductions. This was traditional networking. The downside is obvious. The time commitment and the frequent need for some to travel to a distant location meant that attendance levels were generally unpredictable and inconsistent. I have memories of feeling guilty that I could not eat more as lunchtime buffets suffered from over-catering as optimistic attendance forecasts disappointed the organisers. How many programmes of such meetings start well but peter out after the third or fourth events?

Remote access helps considerably, and Kensington and Chelsea kept its audience. Home working lends itself to these virtual gatherings, and if you have to miss some or part of the proceedings, there is always the recording to replay after hours. Asking questions can be a bit clunky, and a lot depends upon the quality of the chair and any facilitation. Maybe – just maybe – now is the time for this type of team building.

Is this the training method for the age?

Possibly. What organisations must bear in mind is that there is a difference between imparting knowledge and building skills. For example, Comms/Engagement staff in the NHS, need to understand the legal framework that governs their public engagement and the way in which Guidance applies to them. That is, primarily, knowledge, obtainable by reading the relevant texts, listening to presentations, access to case studies and, maybe, discussions with peers. Skills like facilitation, questionnaire design or writing impact assessments, involve rather more hands-on experience, guided tuition and some trial-and-error. Bringing everyone together has limited value in skills-building but can be great for knowledge-transfer.

Networks fulfil a number of roles. They can help support better understanding, establish common interpretations and reinforce commitment and motivation. Together they amount to ‘capability’ – the aggregate capacity of an organisation to make things happen – often, to use a hackneyed phrase – producing a result that is greater than the sum of its parts. Creating such networks is a valuable initiative, but maintaining them over the long-term is the key to a sustained capability.

What most organisations need is a blend of learning – absorbing key elements of know-how and then having the opportunity to ask questions, and discuss problems with experts. In the field of public engagement and consultation, the Institute has always offered a range of training courses covering so many aspects of the profession’s skills and knowledge requirements. They were usually delivered by Associates with years of experience – so that there were always opportunities to consider the material and its implications.

Times have changed. e-learning was becoming popular well before the pandemic accelerated the trend. Then virtually-delivered variants of courses became possible – and today we can offer hybrid solutions whereby members and clients can follow the e-learning courses in the privacy of their own homes and at their own pace – and then attend virtual workshops or courses to deepen their understanding.

Events like those at Kensington and Chelsea are not a substitute for comprehensive training. But they can – and do – provide an excellent means to focus on what is needed, to signal key priorities and confirm the value and relevance of listening to the communities we serve. 2021 could be the year when they come into their own.

To examine the Institute’s current training offerings, click here.