Comments on: Making participation a participation sport

By: Steph

Steph — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:41:15 +0000

Interesting thoughts – thanks

@Kevin: I see some truth in the bureaucracy argument, but I wonder if this isn’t an opportunity in itself. Could participation be made part of the process, in the same way that consultation is? So rather than a weighty document and 12 weeks to discuss it, an official consultation of type X needs to incorporate public participation methods from list Y?

@Paul: Absolutely, and frankly I’m coming to this view more and more strongly. Of course Government has a role, but the default is generally still to presume government action and consult on the form it should take. But what does it mean for individuals like Sanjay and the Minister, who get judged on their actions rather than wider outcomes? Should we give up on the idea of winning over every Sanjay in every department to think creatively about the techniques available?

By: Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:05:32 +0000

Surely what needs to change over time is the culture and context. The minister needs to learn that action does not mean a green paper in six weeks. Perhaps we get too quickly to the “new policy is needed” stage. And jump too quickly to the assumption that coming up with the right policy change will make everything fine. So we need to focus more (and have more conversation) on what ministers/depts are trying to achieve. Then we need to have more open input on how you might get there (with more space for ideas that are not just about government actions). And finally we need to recognise that it takes time and conversation to get people truly on board and to get implementation right. As Charlie Leadbeater would say, we have had too much doing for and to – we need now to develop approaches that involve doing with.

By: Kevin Harris

Kevin Harris — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:36:03 +0000

I like the question. For me, I think you’re getting closest with this one:

‘Is it that politics or the media get in the way of open public dialogue?’

But it’s the style of administration more than politics, I suggest. Bureaucracies (especially when based in a large centrifugal city from which it’s hard to make meaningful explorations) have all sorts of mechanisms to protect their own culture.* That culture is cautious towards innovation because outcomes can’t accurately be predicted; and suspicious of change when it is offered at a profound level, because of the ramifying effects. Hierarchical bureaucracy is highly self-protective, and a bit unsuited to the network society or an age of participative governance. But it will be the last struture to go, I guess.

*Those who can, do. Those who cannot, invent procedures. And those who can’t even invent procedures, end up in human resources.

By: Steph

Steph — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:04:26 +0000

I wonder if it’s people you need – what if every major policy team in Whitehall had an embedded engagement specialist, helping them to identify needs and opportunities and connecting the right officials to the right tools and communities? Even identifying the unknown unknowns, such as the fact that 87 responses isn’t good.

It’s unfashionable to suggest government headcounts should be made bigger, but I think is the kind of case where superficially cheaper toolkits, conferences, courses or external agencies just won’t deliver the kind of support to Sanjay that would genuinely make a difference.

By: Making participation a participation sport « Local Democracy

Making participation a participation sport « Local Democracy — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:15:41 +0000

[...] “…why aren’t advocates of public participation and engagement more successful in engaging the…“ [...]

By: Neil Williams

Neil Williams — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:44:57 +0000

Your scenario is spot on.

The crux of the issue for me is: in a big government department, how do you *find* Sanjay, within that 6 week window, before it’s too late to do anything at all? How do you even know he’s doing this work?

Which suggests the answer lies in:
- making user-friendly tools and guidance readily available and easy for Sanjay to find
- brainwashing (or preferably, as I have said elswehere, mandating) the consultation co-ordinator to think conversations first, publications later
- culture change, so that Sanjay’s peers, and the minister, stop thinking 87 responses is good enough

I’m less sure we can make a dent on the socio-political pressure on timetables.