{"id":25839,"date":"2020-03-31T17:12:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T16:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=25839"},"modified":"2020-03-31T17:12:52","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T16:12:52","slug":"ihbcs-imho-signpost-using-strategy-to-create-a-glocal-consultation-from-tci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=25839","title":{"rendered":"IHBC\u2019s IMHO signpost: Using strategy to create a \u2018Glocal\u2019 consultation, from TCI"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-20194\" src=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Consultation_Institute_logo-300x127.png\" alt=\"logo\" width=\"300\" height=\"127\" \/>Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of consulting internationally is that of running a broad consultation which spans more than one country or region and is simultaneously accessible on a local level, so The Consultation Institute (TCI) asks if a consultation really can be \u2018glocal\u2019?<\/h3>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The Consultation Institute\u2019s Penny Norton writes:<\/p>\n<p>\u2026 a consultation can be consistent in its purpose and messages while remaining relevant to its local audiences if a strategic approach is adopted. Essentially, the strategic approach is a broad overview of the consultation with clear aims and objectives and is informed by comprehensive research, including that at a local level.\u00a0 The direction defined through the strategic process enables the consultation team to share values, expectations and understanding but is suitably flexible to allow for creativity and a diversity of methodologies to be implemented locally.<\/p>\n<p>The strategy will be in place prior to the consultation commencing and will influence every stage through to evaluation and feedback. In essence, the process involves the following steps:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Research<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Situational analysis<\/strong>, typically PEST (political, economic, social, and technological) and SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis across the wide geographic area, to gain background information to inform the consultation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Issues analysis<\/strong> to create awareness of the issues likely to influence feedback, adding context to the consultation responses and enabling the consultation team to address any misapprehensions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Political analysis<\/strong> to understand the forces which may influence engagement, both overall and in specific localities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stakeholder analysis<\/strong> to understand the local communities and the personalities and groups which shape it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Scoping<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pre-consultation dialogue<\/strong> \u2013 the first stage of dialogue with a range of key stakeholders and potential consultees, which seeks their views on the proposed consultation and informs the following stages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Aims and objectives<\/strong> \u2013 clear consultation goals to ensure consistency within the wider team and communicate a sense of purpose to external audiences.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Development of consistent information<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Agreement of the consultation <strong>questions<\/strong>, to identify what should be asked to deliver the necessary feedback.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Audience profiling<\/strong> to identify precisely who will be targeted so that resources can be focussed appropriately and monitoring can identify any gaps.<\/li>\n<li>Selection of <strong>dialogue methods<\/strong> which can vary considerably from country to country, provided they respond to the aims and objectives and include the relevant messages and questions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Resource allocation<\/strong> to ensure that the proposed consultation is deliverable on the ground.<\/li>\n<li>Compilation of the necessary <strong>consultation documents<\/strong>, tailored to the specific locality as necessary.<\/li>\n<li>Creation of a <strong>timetable<\/strong> to ensure that adequate time is given to allow for responses, analysis and feedback.<\/li>\n<li>Continual <strong>monitoring<\/strong> to check that the consultation is running as intended.<\/li>\n<li>Gain an understanding from the consultation responses through <strong>analysis<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This will lead to a <strong>decision<\/strong> being taken.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Report<\/strong> back to all stakeholders, using the most appropriate means for the specific audience to demonstrate the impact of the consultation on the resultant decision.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Evaluate<\/strong> the process, to address any criticisms and benefit future consultations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A strategic approach is not a \u2018to do\u2019 list, but a cycle: situational and issues analysis and stakeholder research each benefit from ongoing development; regular monitoring influences the ongoing selection of dialogue methods, and regular evaluation reinvigorates the strategic direction.<\/p>\n<p>While this blog has recommended a best practice approach to consultation strategy, I do not presuppose that it will be followed to the letter: no public participation programme will conform exactly to an ideal, because issues will always arise which challenge the best laid plans. However, in implementing a strategy with informed aims and objectives and planning for their delivery, the realisation of these aims is more likely to be achieved despite the consultation taking place across a wide geographic area.<\/p>\n<p>Each of the elements of strategy covered briefly in this blog are explained in more detail in my book Public Consultation and Community Involvement in Planning: a twenty-first century guide.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.consultationinstitute.org\/using-strategy-to-create-a-glocal-consultation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more&#8230;.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of consulting internationally is that of running a broad consultation which spans more than one country or region and is simultaneously accessible on a local level, so The Consultation Institute (TCI) asks if a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=25839\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25840,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25839\/revisions\/25840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}