Welcome to West Dunbartonshire Council’s Consultation Toolkit
Responsiveness and Consultation are key characteristics of Best Value and central to
effective partnership working. Our Community Engagement and Consultation Strategies state our commitment to high quality engagement and consultation – you can see “Involving Communities” by clicking on this link.
Consultation – a Definition
“Consultation is the dynamic process of dialogue between individuals or groups,
based upon a genuine exchange of views, and normally with the objective of
influencing decisions, policies or programmes of action”.
Our commitment to quality consultation goes beyond statutory duties. A key aspiration is to ensure that service delivery and policy development are based on a sound knowledge and understanding of what our stakeholders need and want.
In addition to the Toolkit Guidance you should also consider and use:
Consultation Mandate (Appendix 1)
Consultation Network Departmental Contacts (Appendix 2)
Sampling Briefing Note (Appendix 3)
West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel (Appendix 4)
Stakeholder Matrix (Appendix 5)
Key Stakeholders (Appendix 6)
Integrated Impact Assessment Guide (Appendix 7)
Consultation Feedback Template (Appendix 8)
Consultation Checklist (Appendix 9)
The Toolkit
This toolkit provides step by step guidance on best practice approaches to consultation. It provides helpful information and advice on planning and carrying out consultation work. It also provides guidance on minimum standards.
The toolkit is organised into steps:
Step 1 Defining the aims and objectives of your consultation
Step 2 Resourcing your consultation
Step 3 The level and method(s) of consultation needed
Step 4 Who to consult
Step 5 Making sure your consultation is inclusive
Step 6 Planning and carrying out the consultation
Step 7 Using the results
Step 8 Providing Feedback and Evaluating your consultation
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