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Last Updated: 19/1/2007
1.2 It is important to identify proactively relevant interested parties and those whom the policy will be likely to affect. These groups should be contacted and engaged in discussion as early as possible in the policy development process.
Code of Practice on consultation, Criterion 1, p.6
Most policy teams will be aware of a core group of stakeholders with whom they have regular contact before they begin the consultation process. Whilst you should be aware that this group may change as the consultation progresses, they can be a valuable source of advice and information for you throughout the process.
As soon as you think you may need to consult, you should organise a meeting with representatives of this core group.
Involving your key stakeholders at an early stage will enable you to:
When starting the consultation process, it is useful to discuss ideas and scope options with a small group like this (you should limit such a group to around 12 people).
Stakeholder groups are a helpful source of information and can often provide in-depth qualitative and quantitative detail on your consultation topic. They can also bring empirical examples to the discussion and will usually be able to provide further useful contacts from their own stakeholder base.
You should also consider consulting with relevant representative groups. Representative groups are often voluntary organisations and share a common interest and view on a particular subject - for example an environmental or political issue. They may also be advice agencies (such as the Citizens' Advice Bureaux), support groups or watchdog organisations. Representative groups also often have access to a great deal of detailed information on a specific area and have a good knowledge of other groups working in the same field. They may also undertake research which could be mutually useful.
However, you should always remember that stakeholder and representative groups may not give a view that is wholly representative of their sector. You should therefore aim to consult with a number of representatives from each sector to ensure that you gain a wide range of views. Respondents should also be clear about the capacity in which you want them to respond, for example as individual, independent expert, or representative of their organisation. Make sure that this information is recorded so that you can analyse your responses more effectively.
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