One of the things we hear a lot is that consultations – of which there have been a lot in recent months, with more in the offing – are an area where people struggle. Even if they’re not ‘nonsultations’ or bafflingly technical to a lay person, people often end up suffering from consultation fatigue, or simply don’t have the time to attend an event held in the town hall on a Tuesday lunchtime in November. And when you have made the effort to respond, it can all feel like a giant waste of time. And yet, the alternative – not being consulted – seems worse.
With a lot of important consultations happening around Scotland just now and in the coming months, we want to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard, especially those who tend to be overlooked. So we’re delighted to announce a joint event with Women’s Cycle Forum Scotland that will try and demystify the process of consultations, challenge some of the ways that they happen, and establish what the barriers are to people getting their perspective across. As well as providing information about how to increase the likelihood of your own response being effective, we’ll be feeding back to the powers that be how they can best consult to make sure that they hear from women, minority groups, those with disabilities and other groups who stand to benefit most from a refashioning of our towns and cities.
The programme is still being confirmed, but there will be speakers and workshops covering:
Quality consulation responses from an insider – what will get your voice heard?
Masterminding local responses – maximum impact, minimum pain
Hearing unheard voices – how to give a voice to those that don’t get heard during consultations
The geek’s guide to consultations – tools and tips to harness your inner road engineer
and more to be added!
