To what extent should consultation and engagement specialists be involved in options development?

Once upon a time, those responsible for public engagement and consultation would be the last to know that their services were about to be required!

Countless times we have heard stories of functional Managers arriving at the office door armed with a tentative consultation paper, complete with options, an ill-prepared questionnaire and an ambitious timetable that took little account of principles or practicalities. The result was often a go-through-the-motions, tokenistic exercise of little value to anyone.

Happily, in most organisations, those days have long gone, and significant change is planned with professionalism and a recognition that the communications role is all-important. Those at the top will know that key stakeholders – and the general public will expect a measure of involvement, and that securing this can be a real challenge. Rudimentary stakeholder management expertise is often quite widely available in public bodies, but in-depth experience is in short supply. In recent years, there has been a haemorrhage of such skills and knowledge from the NHS and local authorities. Even in infrastructure planning, where private sector consultants are often found in numbers – and at a price, the available talent is in short supply. True experts in public consultation are a valuable resource. Apart from Health and Local Councils, we know that Government departments, Executive agencies, Non-departmental public bodies and many others struggle to find and retain best practice skills.