From: Tracey P. Lauriault <[email protected]> http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/2012/nov/09/how-to-consult-citizens
In July, the Cabinet Office published new guidance<http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/consultation-principles-guidance> on how consultations will be carried out in future, highlighting two particular changes: departments will follow a range of timescales rather than defaulting to a 12-week period; and the expectation is that consultations would be "digital by default" ie. conducted electronically. In December, Oliver Letwin, minister for government policy<http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/policy>, will appear before the Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee<http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/secondary-legislation-scrutiny-committee/> to measure how the proposed legislation is working in practice. But we can't just digitise the existing narrow process, says Anthony Zacharzewski, one of the founders of Demsoc. <http://www.demsoc.org/> "Despite the guidance, the real experience of being consulted is pretty dispiriting.<http://www.demsoc.org/2012/05/25/government-consultations-quiz-show-or-review-show/> In most cases, there is a list of questions that you are invited to answer, either by ranking items or filling in freeform text. The citizen gets frustrated trying to fit what he wants to say in to a narrow question-and-answer format", he said. Nadhim Zahawi MP, chief executive of YouGov, cautioned at an Institute for Government event,<http://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/events/upcoming/making-policy-better-series-armchair-evaluators-how-can-citizen-feedback-drive-better-policy> that the UK is notoriously poor at citizen feedback and that data collection should be simple to get the largely silent majority to share their experiences. Mike Harris, the chief executive of Guerilla Policy<http://www.guerillapolicy.org/>, agrees. "It is the natural corollary of open data and transparency, allowing public participation at every stage of decision-making and implementation", he said. Guerilla Policy, in collaboration with Demsoc,<http://www.demsoc.org/> the Cabinet Office, and Involve, <http://www.involve.org.uk/> have started a six month project to chart how civil service reform plans for open policy making <http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network/policy-making> will become the "default". Our live online discussion, which takes place between *12pm-2pm* on*Friday 16 November,* aims to unlock the issues behind digital consultation and to share tips on the best way to run one. *We want to know:* • Will this new approach to consultation lead to improvements in the process and outcomes? • What does the best consultation and open policy making look like today, and what tools are available that government can use to meet its goals? • Do those working in the public sector have the skills to deal with the amount of feedback they could receive from armchair evaluators? • What are the best international examples of open policy making? • Under what circumstances is it reasonable for the government to decide not to consult on policy development? • When - and for how long - should consultation exercises be held? • There is the expectation that consultations would happen digitally - how will this impact on different groups in society? Come and join our discussion, or send us your questions or thoughts ahead of the debate. You can email us at [email protected] or tweet us @publicleaders <https://twitter.com/Publicleaders>. Please email [email protected] to be considered for the expert panel. *• To respond to this, or any other article on the Guardian **public leaders network* <http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network>*, email [email protected]. You must be **a member*<https://register.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders/> *of the network to submit articles for publication.* *• For the latest public leadership updates, follow us on **Twitter*<https://twitter.com/Publicleaders> *Why not join our community? Becoming a member of the Guardian **public leaders network * <http://www.guardian.co.uk/public-leaders-network>*means you get sent weekly email updates on policy and leadership. You can sign up - for free - **online here.*<http://reg.guardian.managemyaccount.co.uk/public-leaders/start.php>
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