Public consultations are a common tool for local government and public bodies. A comprehensive plan ensures that the consultation process gathers meaningful feedback from all relevant parties. A well-planned public consultation strategy is key to the success of the policies, plans and projects resulting from the consultation process.
The Importance of Planning for Public Consultations
Public consultations are a way for the public to share their views on a particular issue. They are an important tool for organisations, who often use them to learn how the general public feel about a given project, plan or policy. For government and public bodies, they are often a legal requirement before introducing new policies or local plans.
They give people the chance to have their say on decisions that affect them and their communities. Consultations also help public bodies to share information and engage with key stakeholders and the wider public in a clear and structured way. They also allow organisers to gather real-time feedback on how that information is being received and understood.
An effective public consultation can:
- Build trust that citizens have in government and policymakers.
- Make citizens feel their voices are heard by the bodies that represent them.
- Allow policy-makers to better understand potential issues and opportunities.
- Help to create more effective policies and plans.
- Reduce disinformation and negativity about a given policy or project.
- Adhere to regulatory requirements, in the case of statutory consultations.
Given the importance of public consultations, it is essential to plan them carefully. Planning ahead allows public consultations to be run successfully. It allows clear objectives to be set and gives a roadmap to achieving those objectives. A good strategy defines the metrics by which the organisation running the consultation can measure success.
Planning allows a consultation to be run in such a way that resources can be used most efficiently. This is particularly important for local governments, who are often working to tight budgets and deadlines.
Planning ahead enables consultation organisers to improve community involvement, identify key stakeholders, anticipate challenges, and utilise relevant tools – such as digital citizen engagement platforms – to streamline the consultation process.
Statutory Consultations
Statutory consultations – consultations that are required as part of a public planning process – must be planned carefully in order to make sure they adhere to legal requirements.
In the UK, there is a specific set of standards that a statutory consultation must meet to be deemed valid. These are known as the Gunning Principles.
The Gunning Principles state:
- Public consultations should take place early in the policy-making process, while the plan, policy, or project is still being shaped.
- Participants must be given enough time to review the details and provide their feedback.
- Sufficient information must be provided to allow the public to fully understand and evaluate the proposed plan, policy or project..
- All responses must be taken into account and considered before any policy or plan is implemented.
A public consultation strategy is vital to making sure that each of these four points is met.
What to Consider for Public Consultation Planning
Careful planning is essential for well-run public consultations. A structured approach helps reach different communities, manage resources efficiently, and raises awareness of the consultation process effectively. When planning a public consultation, the following are just some of the angles you may need to consider:
The Digital Divide and Accessibility Needs
In 2025, most public consultations are conducted wholly or mostly online. Governments and public bodies use digital engagement platforms to produce and distribute surveys and conduct other citizen engagement activities.
However, according to recent research by Age UK, more than a third of people over the age of 65 “lack the basic skills to use the internet successfully”. Over 15% did not use the internet at all. Other groups, including those with specific disabilities or who do not speak English as a first language, may also struggle to cross the “digital divide” and access a public consultation.
It is important to center your public consultation planning around accessibility. This may mean incorporating inclusive strategies such as:
- Offering in-person sessions which would include printed versions of information and surveys.
- Ensuring that the digital platforms you use are accessible for things like screen readers, language translation and voice navigation.
Ensuring a Representative Demographic Spread
It is important that public consultations are representative of those who will be most affected by the plans, policies and projects they inform. True representation allows all viewpoints to be heard. Representative consultations are more likely to produce policy that is effective for everyone, not just specific groups. However, it is rare that a representative sample of the population happens by accident. Instead, special care must be taken to ensure this.
Certain groups are harder to reach than others. This could be because a community is more isolated, less likely to engage with public bodies, or have a higher proportion of people with language barriers. In the planning process, it is important to identify key groups that may need further encouragement to participate, and tailor an engagement strategy to their needs. Community engagement is therefore an important part of any public consultation plan.
Resource Limitations and Time Constraints
Being aware of what resources you have and how to reduce wastage is another essential step in the consultation planning process.
Public consultations can be made far less resource intensive using digital tools. However, it is still necessary to have some level of oversight. A budget will dictate how many citizen engagement activities may accompany the public consultation process.
Time constraints may be affected by how quickly a policy or plan needs to be put in place to address a specific issue. It may also be affected by the schedules of key stakeholders, such as upcoming elections.
Raising Awareness and Engaging the Public
Arguably the most important step in any consultation is engaging the public. Any public consultation must have a comprehensive plan to engage citizens from a wide range of backgrounds.
Engaging the public can and must be done through a wide variety of methods and platforms. Digital engagement in public consultation allows a large number of people to be made aware of a consultation process and take part, quickly and easily.
Other methods such as community engagement activities, posting public notices, partnering with local representatives and organisations are also essential components of a complex process.
Planning a consultation involves devising an engagement strategy that raises awareness amongst all affected communities and areas.
Creating a Strong Foundation for Public Consultations
A well-run public consultation can develop a long-term relationship with participants. Respondents should be encouraged to participate in future consultations and engagement activities where possible. Good practices for encouraging long-term relationships with stakeholders and respondents include:
- Providing feedback and analysis to participants.
- Thanking people for their participation and demonstrating how it has benefited the project.
- Keeping communication channels open with regular updates.
- Regular outreach with participants in communities and groups that are generally difficult to reach.
It is also an important step to gather, analyse and act on feedback on the consultation process itself. Reviewing participation levels, identifying barriers to participation, and assessing the efficacy of previous engagement activities help refine future consultation processes.
Once established, these existing relationships can then be considered when planning future consultations.
Using a Digital Engagement Platform
Digital tools are essential to modern public consultations. They can be used to drive engagement, and can be used to significantly reduce the effort required to analyse and identify patterns in feedback.
By using online consultation software, long-term relationships and ongoing consultations can be more easily managed over time. Using the same platform for all stages of the process ensures consistency and makes it easier to have everything set up and ready for each new phase or related consultation.
Case Study: Public Consultation Planning in Dublin
Dublin is a fast-growing and diverse city. Given the population size and demographics of the city, Dublin City Council recognised the need to have a thorough approach to consultation planning. They needed a consultation plan that made full use of available resources, particularly digital tools that would allow them to easily reach a large number of citizens.
By taking a strategic approach to consultation planning using Citizen Space, Dublin City Council ensured that public consultations were well-organised, accessible, and could easily be adapted to different communities and topics.
Planning ahead allowed teams to consider the best formats, question structures, and engagement methods for each consultation. When consulting on policy changes, infrastructure projects, or community initiatives, this process ensured that consultations ran smoothly and delivered meaningful insights.
Digital consultation tools played a key role in this, enabling the council to coordinate consultations across multiple departments and maintain consistency in how engagement was carried out.
“Citizen Space has greatly improved the quality and quantity of consultations that we run. The fact that we can have unlimited site admins means that lots of different departments are on board, and having a standardised method of consultation has made the process easier for us and our citizens.” – Dublin City Council
Citizen Space is the go-to platform for connecting governments, developers, and citizens. If you’d like to learn more about how our software streamlines public engagement and provides planners with enriched geospatial data, book a free demo and we’ll walk you through it.
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