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Last Updated: 19/1/2007
5.2 Consultation should be evaluated for effectiveness, looking at numbers and types of responses, whether some methods of consultation were more successful than others, and how the consultation responses clarified the policy options and affected the final decision.
Code of Practice on Consultation, Criterion 5, p.10
When planning informal consultation events and your written consultation document, think about how you will evaluate these activities. You will need to draft a short questionnaire asking respondents to comment on the event or document.
Don't just ask people to respond to closed questions (yes/no). Ask them to rate aspects such as presentation and content on a clearly defined scale (usually 1 - 5, where 5 is excellent and 1 very bad). Ask them to add further comments about what they did and didn't like.
If you are conducting focus groups or seminars, it may be more appropriate to incorporate your evaluation into the discussion. Remember to record any comments made as part of oral evaluations.
Record and collate the evaluative comments you collect for each part of the consultation process. You should also set up an evaluation meeting with members of your policy team and, if possible, a small group of key stakeholders.
If you have resources available, you may decide to have your evaluation designed and/or conducted by an external facilitator. Independent evaluation may increase the legitimacy of the findings and will give you a fresh and objective perspective on the work you have been doing.
Incorporate all of the comments you receive into a final evaluation report. Your report should include an assessment of how well you achieved your original objectives or, if these proved unrealistic, too narrow or too broad, how you overcame these problems and readjusted your planning to compensate. It is important to assess as fully as you can how far the consultation process impacted on the policy proposal and process.
5.3 …evaluation should be used to inform future consultations in the department and lessons can be disseminated across Government.
Code of Practice on Consultation, Criterion 5, p.10
Attach the evaluation report to your summary of responses if appropriate. Ensure that your stakeholders have access to the report and make it available to other policy officials wherever possible so that they can learn from your experience.
Evaluation reports should be sent to the departmental Consultation Co-ordinator so that they can monitor the quality of consultations being carried out across the Department and build up a bank of best practice examples.
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