Select Committee on Public Administration Minutes of Evidence

MEMORANDUM BY ANNA COOTE, DIRECTOR, PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMME, KING'S FUND

Why involve the public?

  Democracy rests on consent.

  Consent requires trust.

  Public don't trust decision-makers.

  Decision-makers don't trust the public.

  Authority is vulnerable in low-trust environment.

  Political agenda requires action and "buy-in" from many players at many levels.

  Public involvement can help to build trust and spread a sense of ownership.

Who can be involved?

—  general population;

—  specific groups or communities;

—  citizens;

—  service users;

—  staff; and

—  other stakeholders.

When to involve the public?

  Options include:

—  upstream;

—  midstream;

—  downstream;

—  continuous;

—  periodic;

—  ad hoc;

For what purpose?

—  persuading;

—  informing;

—  listening and learning;

—  dialogue and negotiation;

—  building capacity and mutual confidence;

—  any combination.

Established methods

—  public information and advertising;

—  public meetings;

—  user surveys;

—  opinion polls;

—  "consultation" exercises;

—  Community Health Councils.

Innovations include . . .

—  citizens' panels;

—  user participation;

—  citizens' juries and workshops;

—  deliberative polls, consensus conferences;

—  electronic meetings;

—  "future search" conferences;

—  "planning for real".

Choosing an appropriate method

  Persuading

—  advertising, public relations

  Informing

—  publicity, education

  Listening and learning

—  hearings, written evidence, quantitative and qualitative surveys, voting; letters, email, petitions

  Dialogue and negotiation

—  meetings, workshops, seminars, panels, deliberative polls, citizens' juries, electronic interactive meetings

  Building capacity and mutual confidence

—  all the above, plus community development, support for relevant groups and regeneration strategies.

Issues to consider

  What is the issue?

  How much scope for influence?

  Timescale?

  Budget?

  Political context?

  Likely consequences?

  Presentational opportunities and problems?

  Trade offs?

Costs and benefits

  Informed deliberation takes time and money.

  Public may feel manipulated.

  Unrepresentative?

  Unwelcome opinions.

  Outcomes unpredictable.

  Can reach the "silent majority" and excluded groups.

  Helps to build trust and consensus.

  Lay expertise improves decisions.

  May reduce risk of opposition.

Implications for representation

  Not an alternative to representative government.

  Learning opportunity for representatives.

  A creative partnership between people and politicians.

  An evolving asset, not a passing fashion.

Potential for democracy

  Innovations will strengthen democratic process if used appropriately.

  There is still a lot to learn.

  A consistent framework is needed to encourage innovation and ensure minimum standards.

Take a strategic approach

  "Ad hoc" involvement will waste resources and diminish public confidence.

  Plan a strategy before selecting methods.

  Consider combining more than one method.

Designing a strategy

  Don't re-invent the wheel.

  Combine different methods.

  Be pragmatic.

  Build on best practice.

  Build in evaluation.

What is "good practice"?

  A strategy should demonstrate

—  clarity of purpose;

—  communication a priority;

—  capacity building;

—  appropriate links with


—  politics;


—  management;


—  community governance.

  Strategy should take account of

—  users and citizens;

—  staff;

—  stakeholder groups.

  Public should be involved

—  upstream where possible;

—  downstream where necessary.

  Where the aim is to inform

—  Information honestly presented, user-friendly, reaches all relevant groups.

  Where the aim is to listen and learn

—  Public has enough information and time to put their points across.

  Where the aim is to define and debate

Process is interactive, with opportunity for scrutiny and deliberation.

Minimum standards?

  Clear and explicit rationale.

  Justifiable choice of methods.

  No relevant group excluded without justification.

  No false claims made or implied.

  Exercise is open to scrutiny.

  Authority responds within a set time.

  Subsequent action consistent with findings, or otherwise justifiable.

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Prepared 11 May 2000