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  • Best practice in consulting young people

    Home Office Report.

    Best Practice in Consulting Young People gives key points on how to consult with young people.

  • Case Study - Consultation Finder

    Examining the pilot in Bristol for coordinating consultations across the city

  • Case Study - Coordinating Consultations in a 2-tier context

    Abstract: This case study outlines how local authorities in Surrey improved coordination between their separate public consultation programmes and, at the same time, created a quick way for the public to find local consultations that may be of interest to them.
    It explains how an on-line database originally designed for local managers of public consultations in Surrey was redesigned and enhanced to provide an access route for the public. An email alert function was also added and the database integrated with the Surrey ePartnership web site: www.SurreyOnline.info

  • Case study - North East London regional partnership - Integrated Electronic Democracy

    Abstract: IEDISS (Integrated Electronic Democracy Information and Support Service) was developed and implemented by the North-East London Partnership (NELP), made up of six London Boroughs (Newham, Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest). One of the more fundamental aims of the partnership was to meet the requirements of e-Government priority outcome R5: ?‘Local Authorities must provide online facilities for public access to reports, minutes and agendas from previous council meetings?’ through bedding in a new and comprehensive e-Democracy system for North-East London. However, the scope of the project goes further than that. IEDISS streamlines the processes supporting Councillors?’ decision-making and increases accountability and transparency. The major innovation has been in ambition ?– IEDISS covers all aspects of the processes by which Councillors make decisions ?– and in approach ?– the benefits of partners working together have been exploited to the full.

  • Case study - Partnership working and consultation - Case study - Norfolk County Council, co-ordinating participation in partnership

    Abstract: Work Stream 2 of the project addresses the objective of Strengthening Existing Democratic Practices. One of these practices is consultation and public involvement. As part of work package 2.4b a taxonomy has been created to help enable organisations to share consultation information. The taxonomy sets out agreed terms for describing consultations, for example, it provides a list of consultation methods and target audiences.

  • Case Study - Reading 2020

    eConsultation in Reading

  • Citizens as Partners in Policy Making

    Abstract: Citizens as Partners is an OECD handbook on information, consultation and public participation in policy-making.

    This handbook is a practitioner?’s guide designed for use by government officials in and offers a practical road map for building robust frameworks for informing, consulting and engaging citizens during policy-making. It recognises the great diversity of country contexts, objectives and measures in strengthening government-citizen relations. As a result, it offers no prescriptions or ready-made solutions. Rather, it seeks to clarify the key issues and decisions faced by government officials when designing and implementing measures to ensure access to information, opportunities for consultation and public participation in policy-making in their respective countries.

  • Code of Practice on Consultation

    Abstract: The Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit published a Code of Practice on Consultation in January 2004, setting out six criteria for consultations; each explained within this 13 page document. The six are:
    Consult widely throughout the process, allowing a minimum of 12 weeks for written consultation at least once during the development of the policy.

    Be clear about what your proposals are, who may be affected, what questions are being asked and the timescale for responses.

    Ensure that your consultation is clear, concise and widely accessible.

    Give feedback regarding the responses received and how the consultation process influenced the policy.

    Monitor your department?’s effectiveness at consultation, including through the use of a designated consultation co-ordinator.

    Ensure your consultation follows better regulation best practice, including carrying out a Regulatory Impact Assessment if appropriate.

  • Community Consultation - Advice Sheet No. 8

    Abstract: Community Consultation is exactly as it sounds. It is a process where as many people as possible from a particular community are given an opportunity to have their say.

    This Advice Sheet covers the following topics:

    What is Community Consultation?

    Who is the Community?

    Community Profile or Appraisal

    When do you need to consult the community?

    Methods of consultation and how much should be done

    Keeping a Record

    Acting on the results

    Do it Yourself or Engage a Consultant?

    Is there anyone else you should consult?

    Consultation ?– the basic principles

  • Connecting with Users and Citizens

    Abstract: Connecting with users and citizens is an Audit Commission report that aims to inform and encourage public sector service providers to develop new and effective ways of involving local people in improving the services that they use

    From the Audit Commission's Introduction:

    1 People benefit most from public services that are based on a real understanding of their needs.This report aims to inform and encourage public sector service providers to develop new and effective ways of involving local people in improving the services that they use. We hope that it will help those providers who are not yet fully engaged with their local communities to make a meaningful start;that it will help to develop those who are already achieving some success in this area;and that it will provide fresh and challenging ideas for everyone.

    2 Our own consultations with service providers show that they particularly value information about what works resulting from the efforts and experiences of others.In this guide we look across the full range of public sector services and encourage cross-fertilisation of ideas from local government,health and criminal justice.We have centred the guide on examples of good practice from a range of sources,setting out how specific issues involved in consulting,communicating with and involving service users have been tackled,and giving the details of contacts who are willing to provide further information about their projects.

    3 Many sources of guidance on this subject are already available,and for that reason we are not taking a step-by-step ?‘how to do it ?’ approach here..However,we have gathered learning points from the case studies and from these we have developed the main principles of effective consultation and involvement.These are set out in chapter 2.The appendices to this guide provide summaries of our research,other information about the legislative background and latest guidance and a list of other sources of information and advice.

    4 We hope that the practical information and contacts in the case studies will be of particular use to service providers at operational level,and to those with cross- organisation responsibility for policy on consultation and involvement of service users.Additionally,we hope that managers at executive level will take note of the learning points and principles that need their involvement.This guidance should also be of interest to service users and communities.It shows the means by which they
    can get involved,and what they can expect from their local service providers

  • Consulting citizens : a resource guide

    Abstract: Consulting Citizens: A Resource Guide is a publication from the Citizens and Civics Unit of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Western Australia.

    This Guide was produced as the first step in establishing best practice guidelines for government agencies undertaking consultation. However, the Guide has broader application and can also be used by:

    > Local government
    > Project developers
    > Politicians
    > Consultants
    > Non-Government Organisations
    > Interest Groups.

    The guidelines were developed in a consultative manner drawing on the experience and input of people from government departments, non-government organisations and the community. In particular, a public forum on consultation practice was held in late November 2001

  • Consulting Citizens: Planning For Success

    Abstract: Consulting Citizens: Planning For Success was produced as a companion guide to Consulting Citizens: A Resource Guide, by the Citizens and Civics Unit of the
    Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Western Australia.

    Planning for Success seeks to help people plan public participation programs appropriate to issues and objectives. The guide is not prescriptive, but does point to some factors in public participation that are common to all exercises and need to be addressed each and every time a project is planned.

  • Data structures for e-Consultation Databases for Partnerships

    Abstract: This document sets out the data structures that were agreed as desirable by those local authorities participating in pilots of consultation databases within the local e-Democracy National Project. It should be read in conjunction with other products of their work:

  • Dialogue Top 10

    Document setting out Andrew Acland's Top Ten characteristices for Stakeholder Dialogue
    • Dialogue Top 10 PDF?(PDF)
      Size: 221.35 KB
      Estimated download time: (56k = 33 secs)

  • Dialogue with the Public - Practical Guidelines from the Research Council

    Abstract: Practical Guidelines from the Research Council is intended primarily for those relatively new to communicating science or who are making the first steps to move from a monologue approach to a dialogue style. Thus some more experienced communicators may find that there are sections in this guide that cover ground they already know. We hope, however, that the sections sub-titled ?“Guidelines?” and ?“Organiser?’s Checklist?” within each chapter, will provide a useful aide memoir for all practising communicators seeking to increase the opportunities for dialogue and the exchange of ideas and views in their activities.

  • DTI Consultation Project Final Report

    Abstract: DTI Consultation Project Final Report summarises the project and details the 4 headline commitments the DTI has made to enhance its consultation practice. The commitments are focused on enhancing the current consultation process:

    To embed consultation as a key part of the policy-making process

    To improve our processes

    To provide guidance, advice and training on consultations

    To have a consistent house-style in future DTI consultations
    The report was released in April 2003.

  • eConsultation in partnership - A how to guide

    Abstract: This guide discusses the organisational processes and resources needed to conduct e-consultation in partnership. It reflects pilot work undertaken in a number of different partnerships as part of the Local e-Democracy National Project.
    There are several ways to relate e-consultation to partnership working, and there is no single model that will be appropriate for all types of partnership - a ?“mix and match?” approach is recommended to reflect local priorities and circumstances. However, this guide outlines a sequence of general steps that will be needed for most partnership work on e-consultation. It describes the various approaches and experiences of the different pilot partnerships with these steps, and identifies the benefits and risks of partnership e-consultation.

  • Guidelines for Stakeholder Dialogue: Environment Council

    Abstract: The Guidelines for Stakeholder Dialogue set out the basics of how we can make dialogue processes work both for us and for other stakeholders. They have been written in partnership with The Environment Council, an independent British nongovernmental organisation which specialises in designing and facilitating dialogue processes. They include case studies to illustrate the wide range of circumstances in which dialogue processes can be used.

  • Guidelines for user focused design of partnership e-consultation facilities

    Abstract: This document looks at the design requirements for an e-consultation system to be used in partnership. It accompanies the software specification framework and how-to guide for partnership e-consultation.
    The aim is to show how to develop policy objectives through design requirements and into actual design features, and provide user evaluation of some specific examples as a basis for guidelines on what works well. Because of the limited experience with pilot projects at the time of writing, the user evaluation so far is limited. We hope to extend it in a later update of this document.
    These questions are examined from the perspectives of two different kinds of user. The citizen using the public face of the system should obviously be considered, although much other usability work already addresses these issues. In a partnership context, the views of partner agencies using the data input and administration tools will be important, and if a range of partners including community groups are involved, the skills and experience of those taking on these tasks will vary enormously.
    There may also be a third relevant perspective. If the partnership attempts to co-ordinate its public consultation work, it will need consultation managers who will use the system for management information rather than operational purposes. This role is being developed in some of the pilots, but it has not been possible to include guidance for this group of users as yet. It may be added in a later version of this document.

  • MicroDemocracy Citizen Engagement Toolkit

    Abstract: Over the last two years there has been increasing recognition of the need to strengthen the relationship between local government and the citizen. At the same time the cost of some consultation activities for local authorities has risen
    What is MicroDemocracy?
    MicroDemocracy is primarily about encouraging and supporting citizen engagement and providing a personalised channel for dialogue and is driven by three key objectives:
    ?„X efficient and effective consultation to demonstrate a potential reduced unit cost (based on the unit costs of paper ¡V based consultation)
    ?„X Personal and local engagement about issues that matter to the individual to help develop the relationship between citizen and authority by focusing on the immediate and local concerns of the citizen.
    ?„X A Multi threaded approach as one component in the wider effort to engage and inform our citizens.
    Benefits of MicroDemocracy
    There are a potential range of benefits from MicroDemocracy both to the citizen and to the authority.
    To the Citizen. MicroDemocracy helps ensure that citizens are engaged on subject that matter to them, that are both local and relevant. At the same time individuals see feedback from their engagement with the authority.
    To the Authority. MicroDemocracy may help deliver more targeted consultation .
    Implementation of the MicroDemocracy toolkit using PRINCE 2.
    This ¡§How To¡¨ guide explains how an authority might implement MicroDemocracy using a number of options. The ¡§How to¡¨ guide has been structured to closely follow the PRINCE 2 methodology and large parts of the guide can be directly lifted to form elements of the project plan. This is part one of the overall MicroDemocracy ¡¥How To¡¦ guide and covers set up and technical implementation. Part two will cover Policies and Procedures for using MicroDemocracy and will be developed following detailed evaluation of the concept and software by Swindon BC