Engagement and consultation

The lead for OPM’s engagement and consultation practice is Diane Beddoes.

The relationship between public services and citizens is changing. Increasing emphasis is placed on spending limited public money strategically and efficiently, engaging citizens in the design of their services and involving them in decisions about local budgets and assets. Open and creative engagement processes play a central role in building essential trust between citizens and services.

OPM’s expert engagement team works with local and central government, health organisations and the voluntary sector to support staff, communities and people using services to work together effectively and understand how to improve engagement in the future.

Unlocking local capacity

Public services across the country know that they need to tap into the ideas, energy and commitment of communities and people if they are to improve outcomes in the context of fewer resources. We draw on our deep experience and extensive knowledge of best practice to build civic participation and volunteering, and we always ensure that solutions are sustainable over the long term.

Tackling complex questions

Many of the decisions facing policy-makers, managers and professionals do not have easy answers. We design and facilitate deliberative dialogue processes which help participants to contribute to national and local policy on issues ranging from health service reconfiguration to changes in library services, environmental sustainabiity and pensions reform. These processes include citizens juries, citizens forums, deliberative workshops and collaborative conferences. Whichever method we use, we provide balanced and accessible information on all the relevant issues and include time for participants to reflect and discuss.

Building your own capacity

Relationships are by definition two way, and meaningful engagement is a continuous process, not a one-off meeting. We work with policy-makers, practitioners and elected members to help them develop their engagement and consultation skills so that they can carry on the conversations themselves. This often includes a new engagement strategy or a bespoke toolkit, or running masterclasses and development sessions. We weave capacity building into our day-to-day work with you, sharing knowledge and raising awareness.

Using innovative engagement

New digital and social technologies offer exciting opportunities for public services to build a completely different kind of conversation with service users and communities. But technology is only a tool. Our groundbreaking work in this area focuses on understanding existing social networks and tailoring communication methods to fit specific circumstances. Methods we routinely draw on encompass video, online, peer-to-peer and virtual communities.

Evaluating the impact of engagement

Public services and non-profit bodies need to know what impact their engagement activities have and whether to make improvements. We are experienced at evaluating engagement, using our knowledge and practical expertise to design evaluations that will help you to improve in the future.

Key reading

• Engaging citizens in budget decision-making (OPM, October 2010).
• The new neighbourhood army - The role of community organising in the Big Society (OPM, January 2011).
• The new, improved Prevent strategy (Ewan King, OPM blog post, June 2011).