We believe there is much we can learn from our European neighbours and we will use this session to demonstrate this. Our session focused on 3 key challenges faced when carrying out consultations: • Value for money • Inclusiveness and transparency • Actionability Using our international primary and secondary research experience we shared best practice examples from Europe to show how this has helped shape transformational initiatives, demonstrating the sectors that put most faith in the consultation approach.

1. 1
LARIA Annual Conference 2015
“HOW DO WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE THROUGH NEW WAYS OF WORKING?”
University of York, March 2015
Addressing the challenges of local consultations – an international
perspective
This work will be conducted in accordance with ISO 20252, the international standard for market and social research

2. 2
Presentation agenda
Challenges for local consultations
Overview of European methods & approaches
Detailed case studies
Concluding remarks

3. 3
Value for
money
Value for
money
Actionability
Transparency,
inclusiveness,
equality
Challenges for local authority consultation activity

4. 4
A wide variety of non-traditional participative methods
Further info: www.partizipation.at/methods.html
Advocacy
planning
Activating
survey
Dragon
Dreaming
Cooperative
discourse
Ephesus
Model
Worldcafé
Fish
Bowl
Neo-socratic
dialogue
Planning
for real
Dynamic
Facilitation
3C method
Citizen
exhibition

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Italy: Milan’s sharing economy
The issue: City administration recognised the value of
promoting and facilitating a sharing economy
Sequence of events:
• Steering group drafted proposition document
• sharexpo event with variety of stakeholders
• Online survey
• Agreement on final framework
Further info: www.milanosmartcity.org
Outcomes and learnings:
• Raised awareness and promoted opportunities
• Gained buy in from a variety of stakeholders
• Created networks, empowering residents
• Optimised the use of resources and access to
services, spaces, and information

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Poland – 18 consultations across 16 boroughs
The issue: strengthen citizen participation in a new democracy
Who was involved: a joint effort between local government,
researchers, experts, 65 volunteers, and 3,500 residents
Methods used: 18 consultations, ca. 351 hours engaging with
residents, 75 meetings took place, a wide range of approaches
Outcomes & learnings:
● a coordinated, more cost effective effort
● residents shaped local initiatives and policy
● the story of the consultations were gathered in a book
● Example 1: Wola street lighting – in situ observation,
accompanied walks, local media, 3D street model,
workshops
● Example 2: Warsaw Old Town consultation around
regeneration of UNESCO world heritage site, green
spaces, and promotion of culture
Further info: http://www.konsultacje.um.warszawa.pl/

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Czech Republic: future city game
Further info: http://creativecities.britishcouncil.org/urban_co-design_tools/future_city_game
Who is involved: Residents from diverse social
backgrounds and professional disciplines; a
games master who moderates throughout
Rules: Over 1-2 days, players compete in teams
through three stages – envisioning, testing and
presenting – and then vote on the best idea.
Benefits: Stimulates original ideas in cities,
dynamic, gamified, inclusive, international
• Joint venture comprising various stakeholders
• Aim: to facilitate creative and cultural activities
• Winning idea: design of a cycle path along
river lined with sculptures and schedule of
cultural events
• Aim: to engage residents in the bid for
European Capital of Culture
• Winning idea: district regeneration,
transformation of unused brewery into a social
and cultural centre

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NL: Face your world project Amsterdam
Further info: www.faceyourworld.net
The issue: Design of a local park, to be used by all
segments of the local community.
Who was involved: Local borough administration, funding
from various sources, an urban regeneration organisation
Outcomes & learnings:
● Designs were approved and park opened
● Young people influenced their neighbourhood
● Innovative technology facilitated translation of
ideas into reality
● Prize for civic value from the environment
ministry
Methods:
● An empty gymnasium was turned into an urban lab
● Discussions with diverse local residents
● The Interactor design software

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Outcome & learnings:
● Children’s ideas and were integrated
into community planning, e.g. new train
stations, housing, infrastructure
● Resulted in new methods and practices
for planning efforts
Sweden: Involving children in community planning
Further info: www.trafikverket.se/PageFiles/157570/children_and_young_people_in_spatial_planning.pdf
The issue: Recognising that children need
to be involved in physical planning
Who was involved: Six municipalities in
Sweden took part
Methods used: Children were engaged in
diverse ways, discussions and activities,
making models of urban spaces, drama and
photography, creating a book

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Germany: engaging diverse audiences
Further info: www.partizipative-methoden.de/en/index.php?page=service-options
Activating consultation
Approach: communities are consulted, and also
encouraged to articulate their interests
Sequence of events:
● Preliminary investigation
● Recruiting and open questioning of
participants to identify issues, and collecting
early ideas for potential solutions
● After survey evaluation, results are fed back
Example: later life in Osterholz
● Senior citizens reflected on various themes
around housing, mobility, public services
● To address challenges of an ageing society
Example: life in Berlin’s Pankdorfer Strasse
● A diverse range of neighbours shared ideas
for improvements
● Involvement of multi-lingual volunteers
Citizen’s exhibition
Approach: combines participatory and
aesthetic elements, involves a range of actors,
enables a public dialogue around local issues
Multi-sequence method: interviews coupled
with visual methods, co-creation of content
Example: redevelopment of Potsdamer Platz
● use of urban wasteland
● link to city wide and EU wide projects
Example: personalised medicine in Bremen
● sharing residents’ views on public health

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Spain: participatory budgeting in Pamplona
The council allocated € 500,000 for a participatory budget,
asking residents to propose investment ideas
Who was involved: ca. 1,500 residents aged 16+
Methods used:
1. Residents’ ideas were collected via various channels
2. Council technical experts shortlisted 34 viable projects
3. Residents then voted on their preferred options
Outcomes & learnings:
● Effective idea generation
● Citizen empowerment

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NL: 3C method facilitates neighbourhood improvement
Further info: Frieling et al. (2014) ‘Collaborative Communities Through Coproduction: Two Case Studies’
American Review of Public Administration, 2014, Vol 44(1) 35–58
The issue: Improving ‘liveability’ in two neighbourhoods in the Netherlands
Who was involved: Local city councils of Lewenborg and Parkwijk, the social work agency, and a
university based consultancy group
Methods used: Collaborative Communities through Coproduction (3Cs), a continuous circular
process of plan making, implementation and evaluation.
Outcomes & learnings to overcome typical dilemmas:
● Involves resident groups that are usually
underrepresented
● Participants involved in the planning and evaluation phase
to allow for face to face deliberation
● Issues were defined by resident panel to ensure equality
of production between residents and experts
● A facilitator encouraged consideration of the long term
common good rather than short term goals
● The 3C method facilitated continuous co-production with
residents rather than a one-off consultation

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Denmark: Wind farms consultation
The issue: The municipalities of Northern Jutland were requested to progress the planning of
potential wind farm sites
Who was involved: Consultations were held between citizens, politicians and experts.
Methods used:
● Creation of a GIS model showing wind farm and
landscape
● Public meetings, discussion forums, reports, online
maps – genuine dialogue
Outcomes & learnings:
● Use of multiple methods and online engagement
facilitated inclusivity
● Use of GIS models enabled public to take an informed
view of proposals
● Early engagement with wider public to find solutions
to controversial issues works
Further info: Hansen (2004) ‘Geographic Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making’,
http://www.ecoconnect.org.uk/download/Review%20of%20Good%20Practice%20on%20Community%20Engagements.pdf

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Further resources
● European Institute for Public Participation: www.participationinstitute.org
● International Association for Public Participation: www.iap2.org
● International Journal of Public Deliberation: www.publicdeliberation.net
● Urban Ideas Bakery: http://creativecities.britishcouncil.org/urban_co-
design_tools/urban_ideas_bakery
● Central and Eastern European Citizens Network: www.ceecn.net
● URBACT: http://urbact.eu/

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Concluding remarks
Value for Money
● Get volunteers
involved
● Mobilise existing
assets & resources
● Use online
approaches
Transparency &
inclusiveness
● Communicate clearly
& early
● Aim for a range of
stakeholders
● Involve end users
● Incentivise, gamify
● Disseminate findings
Actionability
● Ensure stakeholder
buy in
● Set realistic
objectives
● Offer genuine
options
● Use co-creation for
practical solutions

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Thank you for listening
0345 130 4576
info@mruk.co.uk
www.mruk.co.uk
Christoph Körbitz
Associate Director
ckoerbitz@mruk.co.uk
Rachel Cope
Director
rcope@mruk.co.uk