TOPIC 4.7: Methods of Participation (and inclusion)

Selecting appropriate methods for participation will depend on the nature and complexity of the issues to be addressed, what the government aims to achieve through consultation, the nature of participants to be targeted, whether the consultation is to be ‘one-off ’ or an ongoing process (such as an advisory committee), and whether there are legislated minimum requirements affecting the process (such as notification periods and formats, as prescribed in planning legislation around change of land-use proposals).

As we saw in Module 2, the IAP2 Public Participation spectrum outlines a range of methods as follows:

Table 4.1:  Public participation spectrum – example tools

Source: Public participation spectrum^[1]

Managing outwards positions us as cross-sector, cross-discipline, cross-functional networked managers. As government seeks to enable rather than deliver services, we are required to collaborate and to innovate. The context and purpose specific participatory processes we have considered are generally designed to create opportunities for input to government decisions.

However, if the benefits of co-design or co-production of innovative and sustainable policy or services are to be experienced, we need to move beyond participation towards inclusion in policy making and service design.

Participatory processes and technologies will continue to develop and grow as a key activity of government. Despite the tendency to outsource many research and consultation activities, there are knowledge and skillsets, which need to be nurtured within the public sector.

In Module 5, we consider contestability policy and processes and the need to ensure services are well targeted, cost-effective and meeting the needs of government and the wider community.