LGR – a case of careless consultation?

LGR – a case of careless consultation?

The ‘pause’ to LGR decisions in the wake of legal advice is a wake-up call for consultation and engagement professionals. Attacking the process as a result of an undesirable outcome is not uncommon but in this case there might be some meat on the bone. Ironically we...
Dipping into Metadata

Dipping into Metadata

We’ve recently been looking at two salient consultations run by local authorities – online ones in the shape of simple questionnaires.  The beauty of digital engagement is the metadata which can reveal rich behavioural insights from participants.  And while the sample...
Embed and enact, not test and learn

Embed and enact, not test and learn

A great failure of our profession seems to be securing adequate buy-in for our work among people with influence.  This has been demonstrated in the recent cull of consultation and engagement professionals in the NHS but more generally in the woeful resourcing that...
Elections are a wasted engagement opportunity

Elections are a wasted engagement opportunity

An undercooked positive impact of meaningful public participation might be increased voter turn-out.  Whilst we have no hard data about that, it’s clear that low citizen participation at election times (c.30% in the UK for decades) is not healthy.  It signals that...