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Getting consultation right
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There a number of ways in which a particular policy can be defined as 'good'. Criteria include the degree to which it:
- Matches manifesto commitments.
- Meets ministerial ambitions (or prejudices!).
- Resolves a perceived social or economic problem.
- Is founded on good evidence.
- Does not have unfortunate or unforeseen side-effects, and
- Is "joined-up" (i.e. does not cut across other initiatives in confusing or unhelpful ways).
All these are valid and important but over recent years a new yardstick of policy excellence has emerged. This is the extent to which it is deliverable in the real world, within the budgets and resources likely to be available and taking account of how key stakeholders (those affected by the policy and those who have to implement it) will behave.
The process of consulting stakeholders is vital in deciding whether an initiative is indeed deliverable. The track record of UK government departments and agencies has been somewhat mixed in this regard. Quite often policy makers have given people too little time to respond sensibly. Occasionally they consult on what is to be done when the decision has already been made. This is going through the motions and, fundamentally, dishonest (although it might still be appropriate to consult on how the policy may be implemented). Good consultation can substantially improve the chances of success and should be undertaken because of that rather than just because it is required by the centre.
There is now a growing experience of what makes consultation exercises work well. Trawling this evidence reveals the golden rules to be:
1. Offering respondents well thought through options on which to comment. Open ended questions make it harder for busy people to respond - although it is always a good idea to provide some opportunity for some creative thinking;
2. Giving an appropriate amount of time to allow organisations and groups to gather views from a full range of members, employees or constituencies;
3. Giving notice of impending consultation exercises so that individuals and organisations can plan ahead;
4. Providing feedback which encourages participation in later exercises; and
5. Ensuring that all stakeholders or their representatives are identified and, where appropriate, included in consultation exercises. We advocate the use of workshops at an early stage in the policy development cycle to help in the identification of all interested parties who may influence or be affected by the initiative.
EURIM Recommendations
In 2001 EURIM (an independent, UK based, all-party Parliament/ICT Industry group funded by its members) prepared a briefing note on the consultation process (see www.eurim.org.uk). Although it's main interest is in those exercises which affect the Information Communication & Technology (ICT) industry, its conclusions are widely drawn and relevant to all policy areas. The recommendations are summarised below.
- Open, public and published consultation processes should be mandatory for all organisations with powers devolved from Parliament or other directly elected assemblies.
- The current Cabinet Office guidance, identifying which proposals and decisions should be subject to consultation, should be strengthened and extended and be monitored by the Select Committee on Public Administration.
- All consultation exercises and their results should be made available to the relevant Select Committee and other elected representatives (MPs, MSPs, Councillors etc).
- Select Committees might also wish to consider taking active oversight of specific consultation exercises.
- There should be easy access to all documents via the UK Online website (and avoiding the use of lengthy URLs). Their existence should be drawn to the attention of all interested groups and individuals as well as through the press. Publicity should also be given to the outcome of consultations, including the effect of responses on that outcome.
- Consultation documents should be drafted in plain language and be candid about the objectives of the exercise. They should state clearly whether the consultation is about ends or means. Wherever possible the focus should be on ends.
- Consultation costs should be fully budgeted for any policy initiative and take into account the risk that not consulting effectively may lead to wasted spend and ineffective or counter-productive policy. Thought should also be given to the costs incurred by those who respond.
- Departments should be encouraged to share consultations and results. Wherever practicable they should co-ordinate plans for consultation exercises to minimise the burden on respondents.
- All departments and agencies should produce annual forecasts of the consultation exercises they expect to carry out (including estimated timetables) so those likely to be affected can plan the work needed to provide an effective response. Only in exceptional circumstances should consultations be carried out if they are not on the list.
Have things improved since 2001?
A glance at the consultations index (www.consultations.gov.uk) suggests that many government organisations are taking consultation seriously and giving sufficient notice and sufficient time to give respondents a chance to give useful input. However, there is always room for improvement.
Some exercises still offer too short a period for response. Of course there are sometimes circumstances when there is no opportunity to consult because of the political imperative for rapid action or a surprise announcement.
Such cases should be the exception and when they do occur the risk of error or opposition needs to be taken into account.
Good stakeholder consultation is a prerequisite of successful policy development and delivery.
Oakleigh has considerable experience in supporting the development and delivery of policy programmes through start-up, and stock-take workshops, programme management support, health checks and post implementation reviews as well as undertaking process design and developing business cases. We have developed and placed in the public domain (via the OGC website) two tools (the "22 questions" and Outcome Relationship Mapping) which can help policy teams to design "deliverable" policies built on effective consultation processes.
If you have any questions about the subjects covered in this white paper or you would like to find out more about how Oakleigh Consulting could help your organisation, please contact us on 0161 835 4100 or email us.
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