The importance of Effective Stakeholder Consultation

Submitted by Guest on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 12:27

Will Popham identifies best practice, potential pitfalls and the importance of careful planning when consulting with stakeholders

With the publication of the Strategic Defence Review (the first of its kind since 1998) and the news of the extensive cuts to the UK’s armed forces, the importance of stakeholder consultation and effective engagement has never been so apparent.

Good news is not always possible when putting together a review or consultation, but with a lot of careful planning and strategic engagement with relevant stakeholders, it is possible to give everyone a chance to contribute and develop some insightful and well-rounded policy ideas. At the very least, it is possible to establish the business-case for cuts, in this instance, away from the prying eyes of the world’s media.

The Consultation process is a vital tool in the course of engaging with stakeholders and here at Verdant we have often seen situations where better engagement would have resulted in better results. Because we feel so strongly about the need for effective consultation, we have put together this short guide which we hope will alert people to the potential pitfalls and help set out some practices which we have tried and tested.

Get the free Verdant Guide to Stakeholder Consultation (1.5MB).