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Seasonal complaint – Correspondence from The Three Kings to a Council near you and recently released under the Freedom of Information Act
Dear Sirs, We write in greatest indignation upon hearing that your Authority has decided this year, to cease the practice of referring to us as The Wise Men. For generations,…
Read moreFrom Discretion to Duty – Implementing the Disability Equality Duty raises even wider questions ……
On Monday 4th December, the Disability Equality Duty came into force. It means that public bodies have to ensure the involvement of disabled people in many aspects of their work,…
Read moreThe Waiting Game – There’s no need to wait until some good ideas become law!
One of the abiding characteristics of our public service is obedience to the law – and a reluctance to take risks by over-reaching ourselves. There’s an old rule of thumb…
Read moreThe One-Year-After Test – Is this the ultimate method of evaluation?
Those with long memories may remember something called The Pepsi Challenge. Effectively this was a blind test to see whether consumers preferred the taste of traditional Coca-Cola or the fiercely…
Read moreThe Monkey and the Organ-Grinder – How important is it for consultees to have direct contact with decision-makers?
In the perfect world, a consultation is organised by people who genuinely want to hear your views so that they can take decisions or review their policies. They will be…
Read moreThe Commitments Register – An indispensable tool for building trust with stakeholders and consultees
Organising an effective consultation exercise can be a complex project management task. Pulling together the different work packages and ensuring that different disciplines work together to a common timetable or…
Read moreEmbedded consultations – Where consultation is built into standard routine processes
Not all public participation or consultation is a one-off exercise. It is true that much that is most visible reflects the most extensive, wide-ranging dialogues, accompanied by appropriately high wide…
Read moreSubstance and Spin – Recent events hold lessons for soccer fans – and others!
Okay, if the fate of the World Cup had reflected the quality of the merchandising rather than the quality of the football, we might have won……! Yet again, there is…
Read moreParkinson’s Law – Does this 1950’s theory apply to consultations?
When C. Northcote Parkinson first mooted his theory in the pages of the Economist in the mid-1950s, could he perhaps have foreseen how relevant it might be to 21st century…
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