by Fraser Henderson | Nov 16, 2024 | Frontpage
On face value the Post Office is embracing a stronger culture of consultation and engagement. There is the promise of stronger postmaster engagement in the running of the business after the Horizon scandal and a new postmaster panel will be established to enable...
by Fraser Henderson | Oct 25, 2024 | Frontpage
The recent launch of change.nhs.uk promises to be ‘the biggest ever conversation about the future of the NHS’. But don’t be fooled – big conversations are not entirely new, in-fact “thebigconversation.org” conducted an 18-month consultation...
by Fraser Henderson | Oct 5, 2024 | Frontpage
Visibility is so important in a noisy world. And there is nothing worse than people coming forward at the end of a consultation claiming they knew nothing about it. Worse still, few public bodies who consult on a regular basis have any cash resources for boosting...
by Fraser Henderson | Sep 11, 2024 | Frontpage
Tenant voice has been in the spotlight recently with the new report from the public enquiry being published. Whilst the bar has been raised on standards since then, top-down consultation is still lacking when it comes to pooling tacit knowledge and conversing with...
by Fraser Henderson | Jul 17, 2024 | Frontpage
One thing is for sure, if you’re about to embark on a system reset and develop a citizen centric culture then everybody needs to be in. While a policy refresh might help, the underpinnings of any approach should be to develop the appropriate values in the people that...
by Fraser Henderson | Jun 20, 2024 | Frontpage
The election approach is a good time to reimagine opportunities for enhanced participatory democracy under a new (or existing!) government. History tells us that most party manifestos are nothing more than aspirations, not necessarily well conceived and not...
by Fraser Henderson | May 14, 2024 | Frontpage
We’ve been busy looking at every local authority website across the UK to try and determine how public consultations are presented. The results vary from very organised to virtually nonexistent – with just over half of local authorities just listing...
by Fraser Henderson | May 11, 2024 | Frontpage
This article was kindly written for ACEP by Andy Mills (a seasoned consultation and engagement professional) The robustness of plans needed after a consultation has concluded is easily underestimated. It’s quite the tragedy if an otherwise robust dialogue phase is...
by Fraser Henderson | Apr 4, 2024 | Frontpage
With over £100bm of new linear infrastructure projects planned between now and 2030, consultation and engagement professionals who work in the planning sector are going to be busy. And it’s not just the benefits of the required changes that are at stake…without...
by Fraser Henderson | Feb 6, 2024 | Frontpage
Engaging older people is often overlooked in the attempt to rectify pitiful levels of engagement among young people. Given that they have the most lived experience, this really doesn’t make sense – particularly as staying socially engaged is known to improve health...
by Fraser Henderson | Jan 19, 2024 | Frontpage
In the modern attention economy, consultation and engagement professionals have never had to work so hard to attract an audience. ‘Statistically insignificant” is an easy challenge that tends to focus on raw numbers instead of sound representation....
by Fraser Henderson | Jan 4, 2024 | Frontpage
As more and more public bodies declare bankruptcy there are difficult decisions ahead about budget cuts and how they translate into service continuity. Getting finances “back on track” is one such theme of this timely budget discussion in Birmingham . Despite being...
by Fraser Henderson | Dec 14, 2023 | Frontpage
The PropTech fund has spawned a series of experiments around planning, technology and public consultation that are well worth following. It’s great to see DLUCH investing in pilots and local government. Many of these experiments have focused on using AI in...
by Fraser Henderson | Nov 23, 2023 | Frontpage
To get devolution deals over the line there is a significant amount of effort involved in ratifying them. The first problem is that a “minded-to” deal is effectively a done deal, with very limited scope for maneuver and a big cash incentive for them to complete. ...
by Fraser Henderson | Oct 30, 2023 | Frontpage
We’re pleased to announce the publication of our first discussion paper! To coincide, we’re also launching the “think for yourself” campaign. Please let us know what you think in the comments below. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter...
by Fraser Henderson | Oct 2, 2023 | Frontpage
On the recent charm offensive for drivers, government said that it would consult on extending fines for repairs which run into weekends and increasing levels of fixed penalty notices. However, the most interesting announcement was a £1.1bn endowment-style fund for a...
by Fraser Henderson | Sep 22, 2023 | Frontpage
After the Grenfell Tower disaster in 2019, government started looking at social housing provider reform. Four years’ later and it has finally introduced the 2023 Social Housing (Regulation) Act , which amended the 2008 Housing and Regeneration Act to...
by Fraser Henderson | Sep 1, 2023 | Frontpage
There has been much controversy of Asylum accommodation of recent – from the expense of hotel rooms to the safety of “floating hostels”. Alternative plans are also underway to use some of our derelict RAF bases, notably RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. Up to 2,000...
by Fraser Henderson | Aug 22, 2023 | Frontpage
“…appreciate you coming round here, man. To be honest, I wouldn’t ‘a filled this in here otherwise. I mean, why should I give up my time for this? I hope all this does something though. Respect to you for coming out ‘ere [laughter].” This quote is probably the best...
by Fraser Henderson | Aug 10, 2023 | Frontpage
Seasoned consultation & engagement professionals will be familiar with Arnstein’s Ladder – one of the most widely referenced and influential models in the field of democratic public participation that stretches right back to 1969. Needless to say it’s had some...
by Fraser Henderson | Jul 13, 2023 | Frontpage
We should start with the caveat that this is a rare scenario – more often than not, citizens are demanding more consultation or engagement and government is generally trying to become more participatory. However, there are some basic ‘rules of thumb’. Firstly,...
by Fraser Henderson | Jun 23, 2023 | Frontpage
Digital democracy is getting a hard time. Governments are increasingly suspicious of surveillance and discrimination by algorithm, not to mention growing awareness of foreign cyber interference. A recent EU report paints a dark picture of democratic corrosion –...
by Fraser Henderson | Jun 14, 2023 | Frontpage
Setting expectations, doing the research and communicating clearly are critical when it comes to designing and implementing schemes – the old adage of applying ‘good manners and common sense’ holds strong in almost all scenarios. It’s easy to get carried away with...
by Fraser Henderson | May 26, 2023 | Frontpage, Uncategorized
Green engagement is going strong. Citizens assemblies and national dialogues have teased out multiple climate conversations but they always seem to under-deliver. In fairness, there is evidence of positive impact – often because government, nationally and locally,...
by Fraser Henderson | May 18, 2023 | Frontpage
When fellow guru Jonathan Bradley sent me a message asking me “what would the ultimate citizen engagement platform look like?”, it got me thinking. Interconnected worlds have interconnected problems. Take global food security, climate change or economic stability as...
by Fraser Henderson | May 5, 2023 | Frontpage
A truly British invention, the humble questionnaire has been the ‘bread and butter’ of collecting feedback since it was invented circa 1800. You could, therefore, be forgiven for considering them old fashioned compared to modern interactive and immersive...
by Fraser Henderson | Apr 27, 2023 | Frontpage
Today saw the launch of the Gambling Act Review White Paper which attracted much attention, partly because it proposed that new measures were subject to further consultation. During the lively debate, one opposition MP said “Today is a momentous occasion that many...
by Fraser Henderson | Apr 27, 2023 | Frontpage
There is a new crisis brewing in the wake of the pandemic and it concerns our modified behaviours. In shaping a more digital future, assumptions around supply and demand are creating inequalities. For example, bank branches are closing ‘en-masse’ as customers have...
by Fraser Henderson | Apr 18, 2023 | Frontpage
We tend to think participation is “the act of taking part in, or sharing in something”. The term is one which implies an active rather than a passive process – so perhaps it should be triggered from the bottom up as well as top-down. Empowering communities to demand...
by Fraser Henderson | Apr 11, 2023 | Frontpage
Many people would describe change management as a linear process – a curve of denial, frustration, depression and eventual integration. However, consultation and engagement professionals will know first-hand that change has many more layers. Good change management...
by Fraser Henderson | Mar 27, 2023 | Frontpage
The attention economy is the collective human capacity to engage with the many elements in our environments that demand mental focus. The term reflects an acknowledgement that the human capacity for attention is limited and that the content and events vying for that...
by Fraser Henderson | Mar 13, 2023 | Frontpage
Building a Net Zero society is going to zap a lot of consultation and engagement energy. That is, if we want to do it justice. Forget the ban on plastic straws, that was easy. Delivering real behavior change, such as a new low emissions zone, is demonstrably...
by Fraser Henderson | Mar 3, 2023 | Frontpage
Most people would agree that there is a difference between consultation and engagement – an idea supported by plenty of official guidance which distinguishes between the two. That said, there has always been an argument that engagement is an integral part of...
by Fraser Henderson | Feb 27, 2023 | Frontpage
A common problem with consultation and engagement exercises is the relay of information or facts. For example, a health service may talk about changing A&E to an urgent/emergency care model but fail to define what A&E did in the first place. Getting this...
by Fraser Henderson | Feb 18, 2023 | Frontpage
Edit : Turns out that you’ll get the most out of ChatGPT if you learn how prompting works. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You might have heard a lot about AI recently and how it is set to disrupt a number of industries. For...
by Fraser Henderson | Feb 10, 2023 | Frontpage
“Employee led business change” is about enabling the voice of an employee for the benefit of business. We’ve taken a look at the Balfour Beatty scheme called “My Contribution”. My Contribution is about people and engagement, with individuals stepping...
by Fraser Henderson | Jan 30, 2023 | Frontpage
A rather important consultation on draft legislation to support identity verification emerged from government in January this year. You can imagine the headlines – “The beginning of the end for privacy and freedom?”. Probably a good idea to do the...
by Fraser Henderson | Jan 17, 2023 | Frontpage
It’s a common misconception that consultation is a vote but even those “in the know” realise that a popular outcome is the best way to justify a change. Focusing on the numbers is not entirely helpful; questions should instead be raised about representation and the...
by Fraser Henderson | Jan 8, 2023 | Frontpage
Many people do not realise but UK Universities have been taking the lead when it comes to public engagement. The most common justification of this engagement work is aligned to a sense of civic responsibility, to respond to societal needs and challenges. For example,...
by Fraser Henderson | Dec 21, 2022 | Frontpage
The Citizens’ Panel on Participation has published their report and they have made 17 recommendations to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee on improving how the Scottish Parliament’s work involves, reflects, and meets the...
by Fraser Henderson | Dec 14, 2022 | Frontpage
The fiasco with P&O Ferries and their lack of employee consultation leading up to mass redundancies is a timely reminder that you can’t skirt the law. However, not all consultations are equal. Employees are entitled to a consultation with their employer if...
by Fraser Henderson | Dec 7, 2022 | Frontpage
The FCA have recently updated their guidance on “Branch and ATM closures or conversions” (https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/fg22-6.pdf) The new guidance includes provisions which recommend engagement with consumers and stakeholders...
by Fraser Henderson | Nov 25, 2022 | Frontpage
We have to start now Sue Hayman is a Shadow Minister on Housing, Communities and Local Government and on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the House of Lords. In the summer of 2022 she rightly concluded that there needs to be greater emphasis on a consultation...
