Presentation delivered to the LARIA annual conference, March 2015. The slides showcase examples from across Europe, demonstrating how innovative local consultations have helped change local communities.

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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

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

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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