Public Consultation/Community Stakeholder Engagement

Service overview

hopwood pr provides a complete range of public consultation services, from strategic advice and support to the management of entire public consultation and stakeholder engagement projects.

Strategic planning

We will work with you to set your objectives and recommend the appropriate approach. That includes defining who you need to consult with and identifying the best means of engaging with the audience.
We build clarity into the consultation exercise so that people understand what they are being consulted about and how to respond so that you get focused and constructive feedback. We also build in transparency and stakeholder engagement so that all parties involved can see that the consultation is being carried out properly.

Using a consultant

Managing a public consultation with your own people can be time-consuming and stressful for you and them, and does not generally represent best use of your resources. Although your people should be involved in certain aspects, such as answering technical questions, it makes sense to bring in expert external resources to manage an important project. As an expert third party, we can offer an objective perspective and give you the confidence that the exercise is undertaken professionally in line with best practice.

Implementation

Reaching your target audience or audiences is one of our strengths. For HM Courts Service, for example, we were able to engage with people from a disadvantaged inner city community in a community justice programme where others had been unable to do so. At hopwood pr, we are experts in producing all kinds of communications to promote and explain public consultations, including information leaflets, advertising, social media and press relations. Public consultations frequently have an event, or a number of events, as their centrepiece, and we have a long track record of organising these successfully, from planning exhibitions to conferences. We are also highly experienced in stakeholder management and devising effective means of communicating with your partners to keep them informed, involved and supportive.

Input

We design public consultation programmes to include feedback mechanisms appropriate to the audience. Depending on the audience, this might include electronic voting at an open public meeting, distribution of forms for completion on paper or online via a dedicated website, or a combination of these and other methods.

Input from the public is collated by hopwood pr and compiled in a report suitable for your requirements.

Feeding back

Once you have decided the way forward following the public consultation, it is important to feedback to those you have consulted on the way you are proceeding and the reasons for that. This will help to defuse any criticism and ensure that you are in control of the release of information. Once again, our public relations expertise can help you to frame your feedback and ensure it reaches the target audience. Ideally, you will be able to show how people’s views expressed via the consultation were taken into account in the decision-making process.

Risk management

While the media can be incredibly helpful in promoting a consultation, the exercise could attract unfavourable publicity, especially if the project is controversial and particularly if there is a vocal opposition. By anticipating such events, we can put in place media relations plans to avoid and minimise the impact of media criticism.

The outcomes following public consultations can result in winners and losers, for example if the results of the consultation are used to help decide future funding for certain organisations or initiatives. Those who lose out may look to challenge the decision, and may look for “holes” in the consultation as one way to do that. This can be avoided by adopting best practice, carrying out the consultation professionally with the help of expert consultants and being open and honest with everyone involved throughout the consultation.