Not another consultation! Making community engagement informal and fun

86 Pages·2010·2.01 MB·English

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Not another consultation!
Making community engagement informal and fun
Contents
Explaining the guide ....................................................................................... 5
Part I – Understanding engagement .............................................................. 8
Part II – Planning for the informal engagement event .................................... 17
Part III – Checklist for informal engagement event......................................... 36
Summing up ................................................................................................... 67
Appendix 1: Example of an evaluation and monitoring form .......................... 68
Appendix 2: Example of an ‘on the day’ monitoring form ............................... 70
Appendix 3: Engagement methods and exercises ......................................... 71
Appendix 4: More formal methods of engagement ........................................ 75
Appendix 5: Facilitation skills.......................................................................... 80
Appendix 6: Resources and references ......................................................... 81
This report has been produced by Involve on
behalf of the Local Government Improvement
and Development’s Healthy Communities
Programme. The Healthy Communities
Programme receives funding from the
Department of Health, and the views
expressed in this publication are those of
the authors and not necessarily those of the
Department of Health.
2
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again

and expecting different results”.
Albert Einstein
The government has emphasised the • Are just one of a series of activities that
central role that local government plays in come under the banner of community
tackling health inequalities and improving development. These give people
health through enhanced local democratic confidence in their capacity to control their
legitimacy and engagement with the public. own circumstances and have the potential
However, it is apparent that many of the to improve health and wellbeing.
same old, rigid and inflexible consultation
This guide has been written following a
techniques we are used to are not up to the
successful project with Tunbridge Wells
challenge.
Borough Council and NHS West Kent who,
Do you feel like you are not getting the true as a part of Local Government Improvement
views and opinions of the public you are and Development’s Healthy Communities
engaging with? Maybe you feel you see programme, ran an informal engagement
the same faces at all meetings and are not event to inform health improvement in the
hearing from all the groups or individuals area. By mixing accessible engagement
in your community. If so, and you are activities with Indian head massages, face
committed to tackling the health inequalities painting, smoothie bikes and jewellery
within your area, perhaps it is time to try making, alongside health information stalls
something different. covering issues such as smoking and sexual
health advice, the council was able to run
Informal engagement events:
a lively and positive engagement event
that broke out of the boundaries of formal
• Are a fun and enjoyable way for service
consultation and away from methods that
providers to work with the public to
simply tick boxes.
understand their feelings about their
community and how they would like to
If you would like to find out how to plan,
move forward with improvements.
run and evaluate this kind of informal
• Give people greater opportunities to engagement event then this guidance is
influence decisions through participative what you need.
and direct democracy rather than formal
consultation exercises.
33
About the authors draft of the document: David Warren, Jan
Cottle, Melanie Ponomarenko, Paul Southon,
Edward Andersson is the Deputy Director Hellen Murusali, and Susan Hampshaw.
of Involve. Edward is a leading thinker and
About Involve
practitioner in the field of public participation,
advising senior decision-makers. He
trains and mentors for the Home Office
and numerous councils. He is a Certified
Professional Facilitator and is also a member
Involve is a charity specialising in
of the International Association for Public
understanding public engagement in all its
Participation, the International Association of
forms. Involve provides advice, training,
Facilitators and is a board member of
research, events and networking services to
www.e-democracy.org
organisations and individuals interested in
Thea Shahrokh is a researcher at Involve. public participation. The organisation focuses
Thea has conducted research on citizen on the practical reality of public participation.
deliberation at a global and national scale
Involve is committed to producing work
and is practised in different methods of
that is of practical use to practitioners on
qualitative and quantitative analysis. She
the ground. The research actively involved
has managed a number of different sized
relevant stakeholders and experts through
engagement events – including a 100-person
a participatory workshop in order to ensure
citizen’s deliberation event on climate
the research and guidance is tailored to your
change – and has facilitated numerous local
needs.
government consultations on public service
planning and delivery.
About Local Government
Acknowledgements Improvement and
Development
In designing and delivering this project,
Involve would like to thank Helen Local Government Improvement and
Wolstenholme of Tunbridge Wells Borough Development (LG Improvement and
Council and Omar Deedat at Involve for their Development formerly the IDeA) supports
ongoing help and assistance. improvement and innovation in local
government, focusing on the issues that are
The development of the guidance was
important to councils, using tried and tested
supported by a group of expert stakeholders.
ways of working.
We would like to thank the following
stakeholders who have been involved LG Improvement and Development work
since the beginning of the project: Monsur with councils in developing good practice,
Kahn, Mikala Ritzau, Marie Joines, Brenda supporting them in their partnerships. This is
Cook, Michaela Firth, Amanda Murell and done through networks, online communities
Gayle Muers. Their involvement included of practice and web resources, and through
participating in a workshop to help shape the support and challenge provided by
the guide. We would also like to thank the councillor and officer peers.
following stakeholders who participated in
an online collaboration inputting into the first
4
Explaining the guidance

What is this document? When do I use this
document?
This practical guidance will help you plan and
deliver informal engagement events with a
This guide is a practical document which
health focus that combine a community fun
supports you in the planning, delivery and
day with appropriate engagement methods.
follow up of specific types of engagement
event. It does not help you with the bigger
The purpose of this guide is to enable
picture, nor help you to develop a complete
local government practitioners to run
engagement strategy; you should already
active and exciting forms of engagement
be developing or have developed this before
that incorporate drop-in activities in ways
you plan and run this type of event.
that are tailored to the needs of different
communities.
If you have not already
STOP developed an engagement
This document provides practical guidance
strategy you can use the
on how to develop and plan informal
following guidance to help you
engagement events. It is a set of guidelines
decide whether an informal engagement
rather than a strict blueprint. In order to be
event is right for you.
successful, any public engagement activity
that aims to improve the health of an area
must be designed to suit the local context in
which it occurs. This is particularly important Developing Your Comprehensive
when engaging for health improvements. Community Engagement
A community with large amounts of open Strategy - (Urban Forum)
space will engage differently on the health
of their community, compared to an area
that is densely populated but has health
promotion classes in their schools. What
works for one event or one community may
be inappropriate for others.
5
Informal engagement events How do I use this document?
Informal engagement events are designed Are you new to engagement?
to support you in a specific type of public Use Part I to Part III if you are new to
involvement that will support the delivery of engagement, and work through the entire
a holistic approach to addressing the root document. It will enable you to learn the
causes of health inequalities. By working in theory behind engagement and how informal
partnership with community networks it will engagement can help you achieve such
support you in harnessing the civic energy requirements as your joint strategic needs
that is so important for the Big Society. assessment (JSNA) of the health and
wellbeing of local communities. If this type of
Characteristics of this type of engagement
engagement then feels right for you, the rest
include:
of the document will help you to plan, run
and evaluate your own engagement event.
• fun-day aspects so there are lots of other
attractions to draw people along to the
Are you confident in engagement?
event
You should go straight to Part II ‘Planning
• locating it at a community venue or public the informal engagement’ event if you know
space that is often well attended for other how this type of engagement can fit into
reasons your strategic plans for a healthy community.
However you may not have organised an
• holding the event at a time which makes it
informal engagement event before, so this
easy for the target audience to attend
guidance can help you in the planning,
• involving the local community in planning
running and evaluating of this process.
and running the day so that they feel
ownership of the outcomes. Do you want quick fix support?
Go straight to Part III ‘Checklist for an
informal engagement event’ if you have
organised this kind of informal engagement
event before. The best way for you to use
Glossary
this guidance is to work through the final part
of the document.
We talk about informal engagement in
three ways:
• as a process: the entire engagement
process from planning to evaluating
• as an event: the day itself when the
engagement event happens
• as an activity: the engagement
methods used to gather information.
6
Tools to support you throughout the guidance
Stop signs STOP Pay special attention to the information at a stop sign.
Sign posts These will direct you to relevant materials external to this
document.
Checklists These will guide you through what you need for a particular
task.
Case studies These are examples of how other organisations have
approached engagement.
Suggestion boxes These will help you to think of different ways of doing things.
Top tips This is key advice to make the activity successful.
Exercise boxes These help you plan a particular activity.
7
Part I. Understanding
engagement
Before you run an informal engagement event, it is
important that you understand how engagement fits

within the community health context. This will give
you a better idea of what you need to do and what
you can achieve through engagement.
Local government’s role in Local government services play an important
role in influencing the social determinants
health
of health. Without the provisions of local
government, individuals would experience
The health of a community is influenced by
less mental and physical wellbeing than they
multiple and complex factors. The actions of
do at present. Lack of income, inappropriate
public bodies – councils in particular – are
housing, unsafe workplaces and poor
key contributors to promoting sustainable
access to healthcare are some of the factors
health, tackling health inequalities and
that affect the health of individuals and
creating health improvements.
communities that local government can
Health is influenced by a wide range of improve upon. Similarly, good education,
social, economic and environmental factors. public planning and support for healthy living
These elements cannot always be controlled can all contribute to healthier communities.
or influenced. Instead the individual’s ability Local government enables the discovery
to make ‘choices’ regarding their own lifestyle of positive patterns of health in respect
is often constrained by factors beyond their of strengthening social bonds that go far
immediate control. The social determinants in sustaining health, even in the face of
of health have been defined as “the socio- disadvantage.
economic conditions that influence the
Since 1992, a series of white papers,
health of individuals, communities and
reports and recommendations have put local
jurisdictions as a whole. These determinants
government at the centre of the national
also establish the extent to which a person
drive to improve health and tackle health
possesses the physical, social and personal
inequalities. For example, in 2000, the
resources to identify and achieve personal
Wellbeing Power was introduced to increase
aspirations, satisfy needs and cope with the
councils’ capability to act on behalf of their
environment.”1
areas.
1 Raphael, D. (2004). Social Determinants of health: Canadian
Perspectives. (Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc)
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Part I - understanding Part II - planning the Part III - checklist for
engagement informal engagement engagement event
event
The July 2010 NHS White Paper, ‘Equity and functions on behalf of residents, challenging
Excellence: Liberating the NHS’, outlines and scrutinising these services to ensure
how health services are being further residents receive excellent health services.
strengthened, democratised and legitimised
Sustaining better health and wellbeing for
at the local level. A part of this is looking
communities is also an integral part of the
at existing mechanisms, including relevant
Big Society. There is a shared responsibility
legislation, to ensure that public engagement
developing, where local government and
is fully effective, and that services meet
health authorities work together to use
the needs of neighbourhoods. Councils
resources effectively to deliver better health.
are to provide local leadership in services
The recent white paper on ‘Liberating the
that affect our health.2 Local authorities
NHS’, which highlighted how important health
are promoting the joining up of local NHS
partnerships are within the Big Society, is
services, social care and health improvement
marking a new stage in the development of
and as such are looking outside of their
local partnership-working between councils
traditional service remit to link up other
and NHS bodies with the aim of improving
partners and tackle wellbeing issues their
wellbeing and reducing health inequalities
local communities want them to investigate,
across the country. There has also been
improving health outcomes for local people.3
an increased emphasis on the idea of local
A model of collaboration and co-production
service users or public sector workers being
with communities in service delivery is an
able to bid to deliver public sector services
important part of the current move towards
through mutual and cooperative organisations.
the Big Society.
Informal consultation can play a key role in
Local government, the Big implementing these and other changes to how
local health services are delivered.
Society and health
Healthy Communities
Local government has a central role to
Programme
play in supporting the Big Society. Current
government statements make it clear that
In recognition of the role of local government
government will play more of an enabling
in health improvement and in tackling health
role in the future: setting the scene for
inequalities, the Department of Health has
communities, civil society and local
funded Local Government Improvement and
champions to take a more active role in
Development to develop a Healthy Communities
society. Councillors will still be accountable
Programme of work which plans to:
to the community they serve for local
public services, they will play a key role in
• raise awareness among local government
exercising democratic accountability for
elected members and officers of health
all local public services whether they are
inequalities and the social determinants
delivered by the council or health services.
of health, including the role of local
As such, councillors will need to be engaged
government and its key partners in
with all the services delivered in their area to
addressing these
ensure that they carry out their democratic
• build capacity, capability and confidence
2 Campbell, F. (Eds) (2009). The social determinants of health
and the role of local government. (LG Improvement and in local government to address the social
Development)
determinants of health.
3 Secretary of State for Health (2010) Equity and excellence:
Liberating the NHS(DoH)
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Part I - understanding Part II - planning the Part III - checklist for
engagement informal engagement engagement event
event
Local government has shown a growing Councillors influencing health-

confidence and capability to lead on the
related decisions
issue. One sign of this has been the number
of local councils that have chosen to focus
Many councillors are used to
on health improvement as part of their local
constitu ents raising issues about health
area agreements (LAAs).4
services, assuming that the elected
representative has the ability to influence
This publication is part of that programme.
them. Understanding how to influence
It provides practical guidance on how to
health-related decisions is therefore a
develop and plan informal engagement
neces sary part of any councillor’s role.
events with a specific focus on increasing
health improvements and reducing health
As the ‘Councillor in the Community’
inequalities.
guidance is based on London, it is
particularly relevant to unitary authorities,
Health inequalities
however the general patterns are relevant to
all councils.
Many of the poorest communities also
experience the worst health outcomes.
Although the nation’s overall health has This document gives councillors an
improved over the years, the gap in life overview of how decisions about
expectancy between the most affluent and health services are made and
least affluent areas has widened. Tackling where they are open to influence.
health inequalities should be a top priority Councillor in the community
with the focus on narrowing the health gap website
between disadvantaged groups, communities
and the rest of the country, and on improving
Public engagement
health overall.
Central to reducing health inequalities is
What is it?
involving local communities, particularly
Public engagement is the active participation
those experiencing disadvantage. This
of members of the public in the decisions
guidance outlines one of the more accessible
that affect their lives. These decisions can
ways to engage members of the public.5
be specifically related to improvement,
delivery and evaluation of services. They
can also relate to the public having a role in
strengthening the assets of their community
and building sustainable and empowered
groups and individuals. Public engagement
is about engaging in meaningful dialogue
with the public to build strong and ongoing
partnerships with stakeholders and service
providers.
In a time where power is being devolved
away from the state and into communities,
4 Local Government Improvement and Development website,
Healthy Communities homepage. public engagement offers opportunities
5 Department of Health website, Health Inequalities page.
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