Seven secrets can get your next round of community consultations off a flying start. But while these simple steps sound obvious, often they are overlooked.

Public information programs and community consultation are different things. Public information is about telling people your plans or what you are doing. Community consultation is asking for community views on an issue, analysing the responses and using this input to build a better program. Organisations consult communities for many reasons. To collect information before deciding a course of action, to assess the impact of a future decision or to explore ways to implement a policy. Whatever the reason, inviting people to be part of a consultation process can be a great way to win support for change.

Be crystal clear what you want the community to comment on and why. Do you want people to comment about everything? Or will you throw boundaries around what is be discussed? Get senior management to sign off on the consultation topic and any limits before you start. Otherwise you may collect information your organisation can’t use. Or worse still create unrealistic expectations among the people you talk to.  Always be upfront about how much participants can really influence the final outcome.

Community can be an incredibly vague word. A key step in planning consultations is to identify individuals and organisations interested in your issue. This can be easier than it sounds because audiences often self identify when they hear about your plans to consult. The people you probably want to engage, are those who will be most affected by whatever is finally decided about your issue. Keep track of audiences by using a simple database of organisations to be consulted.  This database will end up being the engine room of your consultations so make sure it’s easy for your team to use.

Most organisations have consultation or market research registers. Avoid wasted effort by checking to see if your issue or a similar subject has been recently addressed. Also look at past reports to see what worked in previous consultations and be guided by past experiences.

Draft a consultation protocol and get it agreed before you start.  This document should show who is be consulted, what information you want, how you will collect and record information, how community contributions will be analyzed and used, and when and how you will provide feedback to the people you consulted. And finally keep a record of the consultation process for audit purposes later on.

The best community input will be no good if your planners can’t use it. Set a date when consultations finish and submissions are to be received. Coordinate this with other business, planning and operational activity in the project timetable. 

Things can change as your consultations unfold.  For example public interest in what you are proposing may exceed your expectations.  Work out consultation methods, budgets, venues and evaluation measures before you begin.  But be prepared to adjust the details as necessary.