Consultation and Engagement are crucial opportunities to build positive and constructive relationships with stakeholders. It is therefore important to give the planning and implementation of exercises sufficient time and sufficient preparation.
Before any new consultation begins, a thorough search should be made to find out if relevant questions have already been asked of the public. Avoid unnecessary repetition and duplication through desk research. Shetland’s Community Planning Datashare Site, is increasingly being used as a mechanism for sharing aggregate data across different organisations. It is designed to facilitate everyone’s search for data for the purpose of long-term planning and strategic and service development. Results from consulting and engagement with communities are another form of data.
The datashare site can be searched by browsing a number of categories (e.g. health, population, local economy) and whether the data is as a result of a consultation exercise. Use the search term ‘consultation’ and/or a specific area of Shetland, if your exercise is focused on a specific area of Shetland.
If any results come up, ask yourself: do you still need to consult?
If you’re interested in finding out more and/or have data suitable for sharing with other organisations, please contact the Policy Unit on 01595 744537, policy@shetland.gov.uk or write to Policy Unit, Town Hall, Lerwick.