Our customers use Citizen Space to engage on an enormous range of topics, from things you might expect – like council budgets and planning permissions – to engaging with fans of sport. Who said consultation had to be dry? Here are two organisations who’ve run sports-related engagement on Citizen Space.

Police Scotland

In an incident in 2018, five people were injured after a bottleneck in Celtic Park, Scotland, led to fans getting crushed in a two-way crowd. As a result, Police Scotland commissioned an independent review into policing at Scottish football events. The findings stated that there was a ‘significant safety risk’ at football stadiums.

Police Scotland launched a public consultation on the back of this, asking fans for their views on football policing and the impact that football has had on communities, stakeholders and individuals.

Why it’s good: It’s a great example of using consultation reactively, i.e., in response to a specific problem that’s arisen. The consultation itself is also very good: it uses routing very effectively, leading respondents to relevant questions based on their personal experiences with policing and football.

Most organisations who consult have a statutory duty to do so, and sometimes that’s all that’s required. In this case, however, Police Scotland have recognised an issue that needs attention and, rather than just dealing with it all behind closed doors to avoid publicity, they’ve openly acknowledged it and asked the public for comment. I’m no football fan, but if I were, I’d be reassured that the police were taking the issue seriously.

Hammersmith & Fulham

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) is home to the Linford Christie Memorial Stadium, built in the late 60s. LBHF acknowledges that the stadium is badly in need of repair, and this summer launched a consultation on three options for its future: do nothing, which would see the council continue to operate it at a loss; upgrade the existing facilities; or completely redevelop the site.

The Queen’s Park Rangers (QPR) were heavily involved in the conversation around the stadium’s future, as they see it as the only way the club could stay in W12. Initially the Council dismissed QPR’s suggestions of redevelopment, but later changed tack and opened up the debate to the public.

Why it’s good: The consultation got over 8000 responses, which is enormous, and approximately 80% of them were in favour of option 3, the total redevelopment. The high response rate is very likely due in part to QPR’s promotion of the consultation. LBHF haven’t made their decision yet, but QPR were pleased with the results. It’s a good example of how consultation can be used effectively to gauge public support of potentially contentious issues (in this case because of the cost of the redevelopment.)

Citizen Space is a citizen engagement platform trusted by government around the world. Government organisations and public bodies use Citizen Space to connect with more citizens, increase engagement and improve processes.

To learn more about what Citizen Space can do for your organisation, book a free demo and we’ll walk you through it.