News & Insights

The case against certainty

Why consultation is even more necessary in 2022

One of the main arguments against consultation has always been that it happens too late and is a tokenistic exercise, having little influence because the decision-maker’s mind has already been made up. In the UK alone, there are hundreds of consultations each year that will have no impact on the consultor, who has already in effect decided what to do. It is a colossal waste of everyone’s time, and a breach of the Gunning One principle – that consultations should only take place at the ‘formative stage’ of the decision-making process. Much of the work of the Consultation Institute has been a campaign to eliminate this abuse.

Yet it continues to happen …often for understandable reasons. Politicians get elected after making promises and are naturally in a hurry to implement them. Voters traditionally respond best to clarity of message, personal conviction, and certainty. And time is always short in politics. Hesitate, and the momentum can falter. Think twice … and the window of opportunity can close abruptly. No wonder there is pressure either to by-pass a consultation – if politically possible. Make it as brief as one can, or to narrow its scope to avoid the main question and restrict the scope of the consultation to How we do it rather than “What should we do”.

 

Access to this content is exclusively for Institute members

Not a member? Unlock this article and more today by signing up for a Consultation Institute membership. Benefit from access to over 300 Topic Papers and Briefing Notes, discounted rates on all public training and more. Click on Join Now today to find out more and sign up.

More news

welsh
Shopping Basket
Scroll to Top

Your membership questions answered

View our frequently asked questions or contact our dedicated account manager for further support.

You can reset your password here. If you’re still having issues, please send us a message below.

We have many ways you can pay for your membership.

  • Credit card
  • Online
  • Invoice
  • PO
  • Monthly

You can renew/upgrade your membership here.

To find out more, send us a message below.

You will receive a reminder email from our dedicated membership account manager 4 weeks before your renewal date. This email will contain all the information you need to renew.

You can also renew your membership online here.

You can update your contact details here. Alternatively, please send a message to our membership account manager below.

Please send a message to our membership account manager below. 

Still need support?

Our dedicated Membership Account Manager is on
hand to assist with any questions you might have.

Request a callback

Leave a message and our team will call you back

"*" indicates required fields

Name*

Send us a message

We’ll be in touch with you soon.

Name(Required)
Email(Required)