Consultation

An opportunity for an individual or group of people to have their voice heard in a timely manner. A consultation can take many forms, for example: a one-to-one discussion, often aiming to find the best solution to the issue being discussed; the gathering of opinions and establishing dialogue between interested and affected parties for development proposals by an organisation, local or national government; making employees aware of proposed changes to working practices, allowing for the exchange of ideas and views to actively engage them in the decision-making process.

A consultation should be seen as a two-way process, with the initiators of a proposal acknowledging, through effective feedback, any concerns and issues raised by contributors. Taking onboard the views of others and making changes where appropriate and to the overall benefit of all parties will typically be seen as a successful consultation outcome. Carrying out a consultation and ignoring all views of contributors will be seen as a whitewash and waste of time and effort. This will be viewed as carried out purely as a tick box exercise and will do little to foster good relations between involved parties.