Contents
You can download the full Methods - capturing peoples views how to guide [PDF 1MB]
or view it online.
- Introduction
- Combining consultation methods
- Face-to-face, print and new technology
- Record keeping
- Consultation methods
- Summary of consultation methods
- Consultation methods comparison
1. Introduction
There are a huge variety of consultation methods available. To narrow down and select the most appropriate methods for a specific consultation a number of factors need to be considered:
- What am I trying to find out?
- From whom do I need this information?
- How would they like to respond?
- What information do they need before they can respond?
- Do we need something besides a simple exchange of information?
- How will I record this information?
- What resources do I need and have?
- How much time do I need and have?
- What has been done before to gain similar results? Was it successful?
2. Combining consultation methods
Usually the best solution is to use a mix of methods. People have different interests and requirements. To gain the attention and response from your target audiences it is essential to communicate with them by a method they hear and allow them to respond by a method of their choice.
Pre-consultation discussions with key stakeholders and small-scale pilots may help make these choices easier.
Passive/active communication methods
(Table 4 column A records whether a consultation method is active or passive.)Some communication methods like meetings, exhibitions and websites are essentially passive. Organising them can be a major task but attendance/visits depend on how well they are publicised and how relevant and attractive they are. This means you need to take action to get people ‘through the door’.
More active media such as letters, posters, brochures and leaflets are delivered directly to the public and push the message and opportunities out to the audience. These methods can often be used on their own and do not require additional activity to generate responses.
Passive methods should always be supported by active methods to encourage participation. For example posters are seen as people go about their normal business and they are effective in publicising events and opportunities to respond.
Existing and new methods
(Table 4 column B records whether a consultation method is normally existing or new.)When planning any consultation it is tempting to reuse a familiar, favourite method, typically a self-completion survey, but to ignore existing consultation mechanisms such as regular council publications, forums and community partners.
This should be avoided and the requirements of each consultation, the needs of each audience and the experiences gained in previous consultations should be used to continually improve the standards of consultation we achieve.
Wherever possible, established or existing mechanisms should be used. Time and resources have been spent to create them and relationships are built on what has gone before. Making good use of existing consultation mechanisms helps strengthen relationships and can often be quicker than employing new methods. New methods can be employed to improve on the coverage achieved and to increase participation.
Don’t forget about the media too – they can be an extremely cost effective way of proving information, promoting consultation and encouraging feedback.
Resources
Consultation can be resource intensive and in selecting the methods to be used the available resources need to be taken into account.
The main resources required are:
- information (particularly who is interested in this subject and how do we contact them)
- staff (including design, technical support and administrative help)
- time (particularly to plan and organise the consultation, provide sufficient time for consultees to respond, responses to be interpreted and feedback given)
- money (to deliver your consultation, for example producing consultation material)
- venues
- equipment (particularly audio-visual equipment and induction loops).
Timescales
(Table 4 column C records whether a consultation method is normally quick and inexpensive.)Some methods are inexpensive, simple to use and quick to employ. Others may be quite costly, require specialist help or take weeks to prepare. Looking at the timescale available for a consultation will help determine whether a particular method is practical.
3. Face-to-face, print and new technology
(Table 4 column D records whether a consultation method is primarily face-to-face, print or new technology.)28 methods are described in Table 5. Each method has different strengths and uses. A key difference is whether they are face-to-face methods, involve printing, or new technology.
Face-to-face methods
Face-to-face methods are the most effective for consulting with the public and stakeholders. Such methods are more interactive and flexible and they also allow issues to be discussed in greater depth – allowing the decision-maker’s position, the issues and the consultees’ views to be better understood.
There are a variety of face-to-face methods and one or more should feature in any consultation.
Table 1 Face-to-face consultation methods
| Action planning | Exhibition | Open day |
|---|---|---|
| Art and poetry workshop | Focus group | Public meeting |
| Citizens jury | Forum | Roadshow |
| Citizen panel | Interview | Seminar |
| Community meeting | Local community group | Site visit |
| Conference | Neighbourhood forum | Workshop or group discussion |
| Consultation committee | One-to-one meeting |
Print methods
Printed materials can be quickly distributed to a large number of people allowing consultations to be more extensive than with face-to-face methods alone. They can also be targeted to various audiences encouraging specific stakeholders or groups to respond. Printed materials can carry or advertise response mechanisms.
Table 2 Useful types of printed material
| 1 | Letter | Personal letters are the best means of encouraging a response and they can accompany other materials including response mechanisms such as surveys and reply cards. |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Leaflet | Usually the least expensive but still reasonably effective for providing information or advertising response mechanisms. Can include reply slips. |
| 3 | Newsletter | Long consultations may warrant a series of leaflets with their own branding. Some audiences may be already served by their own newsletters, which make them a good means of communicating with them. |
| 4 | Brochure | Brochures are a good means of supporting complex consultations particularly those that can be illustrated with pictures, maps and plans e.g. transport and planning consultations. |
| 5 | Consultation paper | Consultation papers are often used in specialised or technical consultations, usually among key stakeholders, where written comments are simply requested on the original papers and reports. These require no additional editorial or design input, but usually involve sending out large quantities of material. |
| 6 | Banner | Banners and A-boards can advertise nearby events and can also advertise websites and phone numbers for responses. |
| 7 | Poster | Posters are the best reminder medium, communicating a small amount of key information, but often, and in a specific location. They are an inexpensive and highly effective as a means of advertising events or response mechanisms e.g. phone numbers and websites. |
The most common print-based method of consultation is a survey. A printed questionnaire generally accompanies an explanation of the subject of the consultation, asks a few questions and offers space to allow consultees to express their own opinions.
Most consultation methods require some degree of print or media publicity and the following five would be difficult to use without it:
- Citizens panel (once recruited panels are generally consulted via self-completion questionnaires).
- Feedback form and comment box.
- Referendum/Poll.
- Survey.
- Text messaging (usually requires advertising through leaflets and posters to invite a response because of the difficulty of obtaining the numbers needed to use text messaging as a means of communicating directly with consultees).
New technology methods
New technology encompasses virtual methods and the internet as well as telephone, video and DVD. These methods are increasingly accessible to the general audience and can add impact to a consultation. They are often as simple, user friendly and inexpensive as more traditional methods.
Table 3 The ‘new’ technologies
| 1 | DVD | A good method of adding visual impact to a consultation. Particularly useful for combining consultation materials in a variety of formats to form a single product that can be distributed door-to-door (e.g. audio-visual messages, printed materials, translations and links to the internet). |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Internet/website | A powerful venue accessible 24/7 to an increasing majority of the population. Excellent means of displaying large quantities of information and a good base for highly interactive consultation methods e.g. chat rooms, on-line forum and on-line discussions, noticeboards and surveys. Also a great place to present feedback. |
| 3 | Telephone | A quick and effective means of contacting consultees, particularly key stakeholders. But also a popular means of providing a quick response through phone votes, one-to-one discussions etc. |
| 4 | Text messaging | Difficult to obtain the numbers necessary to make this a broadcast medium but easy to use as an attractive means for consultees to respond to simple consultations. May be particularly attractive to younger audiences or for capturing the views of people going to and from work. |
| 5 | Video | A good way to add visual impact to a consultation and introduce subjects in meetings of all kinds. Can also be used as a method of response through video diaries and documentaries. |
Keep consultation accessible
Always bear in mind the possible need to provide translations, sign language interpreters, use text phones, provide captioning or subtitles for deaf people on videos or DVDs and ensure that IT is fully accessible. Also always use plain language and clear well spaced print.
4. Record keeping
Print methods are usually simplest for recording the views of consultees and provide a transparent and accessible account. Most face-to-face methods pose a degree of complexity. The views of participants at any event can be recorded through feedback forms and comment boxes. Notes can also be taken during the event and sometimes it is acceptable to record events on audio or videotape.
But records don’t always have to be taken. The benefit of many face-to-face methods is in the direct interaction between decision-makers and consultees – allowing people the opportunity to question motives and facts and express their view and particularly their strength of feeling. It may be very difficult to capture that, so the presence of the decision-makers to hear it for themselves may sometimes have to suffice.
Face-to-face events can also be used as an opportunity to remind consultees that they can make a recorded response by other means e.g. feedback forms or questionnaires. Where records are kept they should be summarised in the consultation report and kept safe in case they are later required for inspection.
All records should be kept for at least a year and should be made available if requested. Full details can be found in the Council’s record management policy, which is available on the intranet.
If consultation is part of an equality impact assessment (Service Diversity Review - SDR) the records and reports should be entered into the SDR system and published as usual.
5. Consultation methods
The next part of this guide sets out information on 28 different consultation methods. It briefly lists the main strengths and weaknesses of each method.
There is no right and wrong method of consulting but each method can be used well or not so well. Your own experience of what works well and what you are comfortable with is important, as are the views of your key consultees.
Look at the nine questions set out at the beginning of this guide. The answers will help you select one, or more usually the right combination, of consultation methods that will secure you the information you need.
Ensure that the methods you choose can be accessible to everyone.
6. Table 4 Summary of consultation methods
| Active or passive | Existing or new | Quick or slow | Face-to-face print or new technology | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Action planning | Active | New | Quick | F |
| 2 | Art, drama and poetry workshop | Active | New | Quick | F |
| 3 | Chat room, on-line forum or discussion | Passive | New | Slow | N |
| 4 | Citizens jury | Active | Existing | Slow | F |
| 5 | Citizens panel | Passive | Existing | Slow | F/P |
| 6 | Conference or assembly | Passive | Existing | Slow | F |
| 7 | Consultation committee | Passive | Existing | Slow | F |
| 8 | Email or on-line response | Passive | New | Slow | N |
| 9 | Exhibition | Passive | New | Slow | F |
| 10 | Feedback form and comment box | Passive | Existing | Quick | P |
| 11 | Focus group | Active | Existing | Quick | F |
| 12 | Forum | Passive | Existing | Slow | F |
| 13 | Interview | Active | Existing | Quick | F |
| 14 | Local community group | Passive | Existing | Quick | F |
| 15 | Neighbourhood forum | Passive | Existing | Slow | F |
| 16 | Neighbourhood meeting | Passive | Existing | Quick | F |
| 17 | One-to-one meeting | Active | Existing | Quick | F |
| 18 | On-line survey | Passive | New | Slow | N |
| 19 | Open day | Passive | Existing | Quick | F |
| 20 | Public meeting | Passive | New | Slow | F |
| 21 | Referendum/Poll | Passive | Existing | Slow | P |
| 22 | Roadshow | Active | Existing | Slow | F |
| 23 | Seminar | Passive | Existing | Quick | F |
| 24 | Site visit | Active | New | Quick | F |
| 25 | Survey or questionnaire | Passive | Existing | Slow | P |
| 26 | Text messaging (SMS) | Passive | New | Slow | P |
| 27 | Video diary or documentary | Active | New | Slow | N |
| 28 | Workshop or group discussion | Active | Existing | Quick | F |
7. Table 5 Consultation methods comparison
View the table for an example of a Consultation methods comparison [PDF 88KB]
.
The 28 methods described in this table have different strengths and uses. There is no right and wrong method of consulting but each method can be used well or not so well. Your own experience of what works well and what you are comfortable with is important, as are the views of your key consultees.
Nottinghamshire County Council's consultation standards
- A consultation mandate should be completed and approved by your departmental co-ordinator/champion before the start of any consultation.(Guides 2 and 11)
- The consultation should be logged on the County Council’s consultation database.(Guides 2,10 and 11)
- For key decisions a public engagement plan should be published with the forward plan.(Guides 2 and 11)
- In planning a consultation, the specific communication needs of groups and individuals who are often otherwise excluded should be considered.(Guides 3 and 4)
- A minimum of 12 weeks should be allowed for consultation on major decisions.(Guide 2)
- The name, address and contact number of the person responsible for the consultation should be published on all consultation materials.(Guides 2 and 10)
- The consultation material should make clear by what date responses are required, in what format and to whom they should be sent.(Guides 2 and 6)
- The consultation should include a face-to-face element where consultees are able to meet, question and put their views to the decision-maker(s).(Guides 4,5 7 and 8)
- Any venue selected for a consultation event should meet the Council’s accessibility code.(Guides 4 and 8)
- Any complaints about the consultation, questions asked, materials or time allowed should be noted in the consultation report.(Guides 9,10 and 11)
- A notice of decision should be published for each consultation.(Guides 10 and 11)
- Feedback regarding the responses, the Council’s decision and how the consultation influenced it should be given to consultees.(Guides 4,7,9,11 and 12)
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