We see trends come and go in consultation and engagement: sometimes it’s because of an event in the calendar, like the new financial year; and sometimes it’s because, I suspect, councils all club together and hold a vote on what they’re going to consult on next. (Not really.) You can check out the trends for yourself on our Simulator and Citizen Space Aggregators.
This month, the vote was in favour of transportation. From city-wide transport plans to individual road changes, there’s some excellent transport-related engagement happening at the moment across our tools. Here are a few examples.
Glasgow’s Transport Simulator
Transport is a hugely complex issue, and a single change can cause a ripple effect that impacts areas across the city. So if an authority promises its citizens it’s going to tackle transport problems, it’s rarely a quick fix – and there are lots of tradeoffs involved.
Glasgow have opted to use Simulator to clearly demonstrate the complexities of changes to transport infrastructure, with respondents allocating a limited number of points to their priority areas. Why it’s good: Glasgow have clearly laid out all the different elements they have to consider when improving transport across the city. Respondents can click ‘more’ in the ‘consequences’ text area to read clear and detailed information about what would change at each stage.
Luton’s Transport Plan consultation
Luton are consulting on a long-term Transport Plan, which local authorities have had a statutory requirement to put into place since 2010.
Why it’s good: given the longevity of the proposed plan (20 years!) you’d expect the associated consultation to be long and intricate, but that’s not the case with this one. In fact, thanks to the clear and descriptive way the questions are written, you don’t need to read any documentation prior to responding. However, if you wish to, the draft Plan is embedded on the overview page, where they’ve helpfully described what’s contained in each section.
Clean air in Birmingham
Birmingham City Council is consulting in its Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP). Cities have a government-mandated requirement to keep pollution below certain levels, and Birmingham was found to have been exceeding the limit. This consultation relates to how they plan to bring pollution down to an acceptable level.
Why it’s good: You do need to read the AQAP document to respond to this one, but it’s been linked to in multiple places as well as embedded within the body of the consultation. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the embed is an interactive PDF, so you can click on the chapter you want to read and it takes you straight there. I also liked the fact that the consultation links out to further information about related initiatives and projects.
If you’d like to find out more about our products and how they can help your organisation, you can book a free demo and we’ll talk you through it.
