Public consultation is often a regulatory requirement for projects involving government policies, land use and services. Often, the agency involved wants to ensure that public consultation is done as a matter of a larger process. The challenge is to ensure that public consultation is honest, legitimate and open, and that commitments to incorporate public input are honored.

• The Final Product – Before you conduct public consultation, you should have a clear idea of what input you’re seeking and how you will ultimately use it.
• Meeting Expectations – If you’re required by an agency to conduct public input, your first objective is to understand their objectives and understanding about the process and application of public input.
• Developing the Process – You may only need the more traditional public consultation process – like a public meeting or open house, or you may need to “drill down” more to ensure that you have an accurate cross-section of public input.
• Managing the Process – You need to have a strategy for how your process is managed and who in your organization will be the lead person to respond to public and media inquiries.

We Can Help You:

• We start from the end to ensure that all parties to the consultation process understand the requirements and input needed from public consultation.
• We chart out a strategy to obtain the necessary input from the target audiences and/or opinion leaders.
• We help conduct the various forms of research required to increase the efficiency of input.
• We facilitate the input processes with the public and stakeholders.
• We provide an objective final report and recommendations from the public consultation process.
• We assist in enhancing on-going dialogue with the public and stakeholders.