What do we mean by consultation?
Put simply, consultation is when we ask people what they think. However, consultation means different things to different people. Public consultation is a term which, to some people, simply means market research surveys – but this is only one aspect of consultation. Others think giving information is consultation. Many produce reports for consultation but do not actively seek comments, whilst others are keen to involve the community in decision-making. There are many different consultation techniques and degrees of participation by the community; however four basic levels of involvement can be defined.
 |
Information – informing
the community about services
and intentions
|
| |
Consultation – seeking
the views of the community
about your activities
|
| |
Participation – involving
the community in formulating
options/solutions for themselves
and making some commitment
to take their views into account
|
| |
Empowerment – involving
the community in the decision-making
process and encouraging them
to make some decisions themselves
|
|
Many projects or initiatives, by their very nature, require consultation
with a fairly specific audience, but major issues which affect the
wider population may require extensive consultation utilising a variety
of techniques to obtain the views of all stakeholders.
The
wheel of participation
Consultation cannot be discussed in isolation. The wheel takes us from one extreme, with no input from the community with an organisation taking all decisions, through consultation and participation to citizen empowerment, where the community make their own decisions on issues which affect them. The wheel is intended to be illustrative rather than prescriptive, to show the different ways in which the community can be involved in an organisation’s work. The principle is that skills used at the early stages of the wheel are built upon and are essential foundations to the success of stages elsewhere on the wheel; good quality information is an integral part of a successful participation approach. The development of effective consultation is a gradual process and a variety of methodologies/approaches may be required to meet the needs of both the organisation and the community.
The wheel of participation
|
|
