Sometimes public policy seems to catch the mood of the moment; often it misses by a mile!

What’s about to happen in health and social care in England could emerge as a seminal moment in the annals of public involvement, with implications for virtually every other public service. On the other hand, if Governments continue to chop and change their minds about the precise mechanisms they prefer …or if this bold new approach is under-funded or mis-managed, it might go the way of so many other initiatives. Not very far!

The big thing going for Local Involvement Networks or LINks is that they catch the wave of enthusiasm for all kinds of networking. City slickers turn up early in the morning for breakfast briefings, but one suspects they are keener to meet other people than to learn; professional bodies (including The Consultation Institute!) organise lunches or roundtables, with networking much in mind. Most significantly, younger generations use Facebook and other software applications to find subjects of common interest, and to make contact with like-minded people.

The fundamental case for LINks is that it seeks to replace small, not-very-representative, committees of interested people (the Patient & Public Involvement Forums – PPIFs) with a much wider, albeit looser, range of individuals and organisations who feel they have a special interest in the NHS and social care providers.

Right now, no-one knows how many will take part in these LINks. One well-informed PCT recently told us it would be six to ten, at least at the start; others think it could be over a hundred. In an average-sized town, there are literally several hundred groups who have a focus on health or social care issues. In our area, the local hospice alone has twenty “support groups”!

The challenge is to lure as many as possible into a mature dialogue where they can offer an informed view to Managers who have difficult decisions to make. So many questions arise. Will they work together successfully, or will they fall victim to petty in-fighting as each group canvasses support only for its own cause? Will they be a voice for the general public or just for themselves? Can they find mechanisms to involve a wider audience? Will they be constructive or just a platform for wingers and congenital complainers?

If LINks prove effective they may well become a role model for other areas of public life. After all a critique of traditional consultation is that it is far too “vertical”. Consultor organisations communicate “downwards” and consultee individuals and interest groups send their views “upwards”. As a result, public bodies find themselves as piggy in the middle between competing claims on resources or rival political agendas.

One reason for the growing popularity of deliberative events and stakeholder conferences is that they provide opportunities for “horizontal” dialogue. No-one pretends that a cosy consensus is possible on all occasions, but once properly engaged it is surprising how accommodating people can be with others holding opposing views.

The NHS is only one service provider that can polarise opinions in the market square. Think about recent controversies about refuse collection, schools admissions, post office closures or traffic management. Up to now we’ve asked Councillors, MP’s or even Ministers to make choices without the benefit of involving enough of the key stakeholders and hearing their views. LINks, for the first time creates a better mechanism to take the public temperature and to inject it into decision-making processes on a vital area of our public services.

We must get it right.

Trigger points

• Awareness of the LINks initiative is still poor in local government and in the NHS. Even fewer have an appreciation of its full implications. Review your organisation to assess who needs a Briefing, and ensure that they learn about LINks
• With only 70 days to go, preparations for LINks are becoming critical. The Institute has therefore organised a one-day Seminar/Workshop on January 30th in London. Anticipating LINks is a timely opportunity to review the key issues and to receive guidance from specialists in the field.

This is the 102^nd Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement