Download the full Evaluation Guide as a pdf documentThinking about objectives
The International Association of Public Participation has developed a spectrum of levels of engagement, as below.
Public participation goals
Increasing level of public influence ———————————————————————————>
| Inform | Consult | Involve | Collaborate | Empower |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in understanding the problem, alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions. | To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions. | To work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered. | To partner with the public in each aspect of the decision including the development of alternatives and the identification of the of the preferred solution. | To place final decision-making in the hands of the public. |
The level of influence will affect the way the objectives for the exercise are formulated, and thus the method used. For example:
- the Your Health Your Care Your Say exercise was aiming for ‘partnership’ (the ‘collaborate’ level), although the method chosen was an ‘involve’ method (a series of deliberative forums from which data was fed into the decision-making process).
- the National Waste Dialogue was a ‘collaborate’ model as policy decisions were made by the participants jointly and were taken forward on their behalf by members of the group. The consensus building method used was designed to achieve that level of influence.
1 Involve (2005) People and Participation. How to put citizens at the heart of decision-making. Involve and Together We Can, London.