Tuesday Topic

One of the most difficult decisions which consultors have to take concerns the “quality” of consultation documents. On the one hand, public bodies need to be scrupulously careful with public money, and functional papers such as consultation documents need to be cost-effective for distribution to stakeholders. On the other hand, the task of engaging the […]

An enthusiast for online discussions recently claimed that the aim was to replicate on the Internet, what he considered the most effective and genuine debates – namely the cut-and-thrust of the argument in a pub! One of the aims of e-democracy after all is to encourage open and transparent debate, and to make it easy

Among the stakeholders regularly consulted by both public bodies and commercial companies, one category stands out – customers Customer consultation is one of the four consultation environments identified by the Institute, and should be within the core competence of every organisation that delivers services or supplies products. Sadly, it is often a neglected area. It

New technology has its ‘internet geeks’; private enterprise calls the young turks with MBAs and suchlike ‘high-flyers’; Chief Executive’s departments have their fair share of ‘policy wonks’; but what do we call those who have acquired the skills of organising and acting on public and stakeholder consultations? The absence of a label reflects the speed

One of the hardest parts of consultation is knowing how much to do. County Councils joining the Institute have recently admitted to undertaking hundreds of different consultation exercises. Some have arisen as a result of statutory requirements; some because of political pressure, and many because managers genuinely feel that decisions they take will be better

Consultation within the public sector – and sometimes in the commercial sector as well – is increasingly being placed in the wider context of community engagement. This expression means many different things to different people, and can cause considerable confusion. Some stakeholders, eager for an enhanced voice in key decisions, see this as a platform

Rumour has it that Scrooge lives somewhere in HM Treasury! Seriously, most public bodies have an institutionalised kill-joy ready to shout Bah, Humbug at any form of consultation or public engagement. Our Christmas wish is for such sad souls to experience the nightmare of Dickens’ original creation. In the Ghost of Consultations Past, he or

Consultation is such a popular idea that the label is increasingly being misused to describe activities which aren’t quite ………. There is already a thin dividing line between some so-called consultation exercises and blatant PR. I have in mind the glossy brochure that effectively says, “We think we’re wonderful. Now tell us what YOU think!”.

Every organisation has its own distinctive culture – a mixture of values and behaviours that characterises its day-to-day activities. Cultures change. Over time they cope with new ideas, changing patterns of business or different external environments. In the public sector right now, the traditional public service ethos is having to adapt to the Government’s modernisation

Comprehensive consultation means getting to grips with the full range of stakeholders. And there are so many of them. Where have they all come from? The truth is that the impact of many decisions has not always been fully appreciated. Public policy decisions in particular have to be taken in such complex environments with such