It is quite easy sometimes to imagine that all public or stakeholder consultations are dialogues between the usual bureaucracies and local communities. And it is equally easy to characterise these as an unequal contest between well-resourced organisations and enthusiastic amateurs; it is one of the reasons why some academics dismiss consultation as largely tokenistic, and […]
Consulting the powerful – Are the rules different? Read More »
When the Institute began in 2003, there was quite a lot of public and stakeholder consultation. Some of it was excellent; rather too much of it was classic tick-in-box and the occasional exercise hit the headlines, usually for the wrong reasons. The Government was prone to grand consultative gestures and spent freely on some
Considering the sheer number of judicial reviews sought on issues of consultation and engagement in recent years, it may surprise many that there has been no Court case on the 1999 Local Government Act – and the Best Value regime it introduced for Councils in England.
An experienced consultation officer in the NHS recently could scarcely conceal her delight. The consultation had resulted in a 1% participation rate, regarded by her bosses and many others as being a creditable achievement. In the cool light of another day, of course it may look differently. Not only does the arithmetic mean 1% is
Self-selected samples – When consultation respondents might be unrepresentative Read More »
A public body we know has spent two years – on and off – examining a wholesale reorganisation of its service. In many ways it has been a textbook exercise. Key stakeholders were identified early; there was open-minded, inclusive engagement, based on truthful data and honest analysis. As time wore on, several possible scenarios emerged,
Birth of a consultation option. – Once an option …always an option? Or maybe not…! Read More »
Not so long ago, a public consultation was a reasonably predictable process. We prepared a suitable document, outlining the problem and maybe a series of possible solutions. It was published and supported by a range of data gathering methods ranging from questionnaires through to public meetings or an online discussion. Not every exercise lasted 12
These are torrid times for those organising public consultations in the National Health Service. And the fallout from their experience will ripple through a wide range of other services where change is the order of the day. Faced with almost daily allegations that corrode people’s confidence in Managers and Inspectors alike, a hapless Secretary of
Six months ago, Forbes magazine named ten jobs that didn’t exist ten years ago. Okay, so there’s a flavour of the US about the list but, half way between an App Developer and the Sustainability expert, came two roles that rang bells in the Consultation Institute.
Two recent experiences with current controversial NHS consultations illustrate the complexities of providing the right amount of information for the public.
We founded the Consultation Institute ten years ago! And, in that time, we have tried hard to promote best practice – in a discipline that has frankly lacked the kind of academic underpinning that it should have had.
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