Chapter 3 - Connection to Decision Making
Connection to decision making ensures that participant views have the greatest chance of influencing decisions
Trust built during the engagement process can be quickly lost if no outcomes are delivered. Before starting an engagement process, ask yourself:
Is this issue important right now?
Is it the right time to engage on this issue?
Will engaging people influence the outcome?
If the answer to any of these questions is no, don’t start the engagement process.
Connection to decision making ensures participant views can influence decisions. It involves three key features:
Authorisation: Decision makers endorse the engagement process before it starts.
Commitment: Decision makers commit to genuinely considering engagement outcomes before the process begins.
Transmission: Sharing engagement outcomes with decision makers without altering them as much as possible.
Practice Tips
Ensure both public sector and political decision makers endorse the process prior to proceeding
Publicly commit to considering engagement outcomes through transparent reporting of how the information will be used
Transparently report engagement outcomes and their relationship to actions taken forward