Guidance and Recommendations
When and how to engage – both online and offline – is a challenging question. Or at least it should be. What emerges from the three phases of Digital Dialogues is that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to online engagement and there are no right answers – what works in one situation can prove very wrong in another.
It is important to recognise engagement as a part of a wider process. It does not occur in isolation and so the chosen methods, tools and timing must be appropriate for the context in which it takes place. Methods of engagement must reflect the needs of the groups being engaged or consulted, be they the public or specialist stakeholders, as well as those of the organisation doing the consultation. As government increasingly looks to whole-of-government – or at least cross-departmental – consultations and at partnerships with local government and NGOs, this will again affect the way online engagement can be shaped.
From our research we have identified four conditions that lead to a higher probability of success with online engagement:
- Engagement is embedded within the processes and culture of the organisation, it does not just happen as an afterthought or on the periphery.
- The choice of engagement tool is driven by the need, not by the technology.
- Engagement works when organisations are prepared to listen – risk aversion and a fear of exposing the organisation to the outside are the biggest inhibitors of good listening and, therefore, of successful online engagement.
- Reflexivity is vital to success and organisations that are adaptable – able to listen, reflect, learn, respond and change – prove better at engagement.
When it comes to designing the engagement exercise itself, the findings suggest a further set of considerations that will affect the nature and format of your engagement:
Who is your audience?
Professional bodies will engage differently from members of the public, young people are more likely to be online than older people.
Is the engagement deep or shallow?
Do you want a few people involved to a high level of detail or a large number of people providing more less-detailed responses?
How structured do you want the engagement to be?
More structured can be easier to manage but might stifle open discussion and the emergence of innovative ideas.
How managed is the engagement?
Will you exercise control over the process or will you allow stakeholders to drive how the engagement develops?
What tools will enhance your engagement?
Can multimedia and multi-platform techniques provide an added benefit to the engagement exercise and how can they be deployed?
At what stage do you want to engage?
As part of a consultation or before the development of a green paper?
What are you trying to do?
Whether you are trying to enquire, consult or inform will affect how you go about engaging.
