What are some emerging trends or innovations in community consultation?

This speaks to personalities in my view. There are type A leaders and the proverbial “wall flowers” or quieter type. To create a safe and respectful space, consultation should take multiple forms: in person; on line; email comments; written submissions at in person; virtual digital forums and the like. The scope and scale of the consultation will vary by project, scale, budget, population and other factors

Além da distribuição desigual de recursos, a dinâmica de poder pode ser influenciada pela estrutura organizacional e pelo histórico de relacionamentos entre as partes. Grupos historicamente minorizados podem desconfiar das intenções de autoridades e grandes empresas, o que pode impactar sua forma de participação. Para mitigar isso, é fundamental criar mecanismos de transparência e geração de confiança.

Some emerging trends that I have noticed recently with community growth and development is more and more organizations are integrating a social impact component. For example, a SaaS software company creating a subscription community for children with disabilities to learn through augmented reality and they integrate a community component through events, virtual workshops, and or being assigned to your community success manager to ensure that you are utilizing the platform the best.

Addressing power dynamics is critical in community consultation. It's about leveling the playing field and ensuring everyone’s voice is heard. One way to do this is by creating multiple channels for input, like in-person meetings, online forums, and anonymous submissions. Acknowledging and actively mitigating power imbalances fosters a more inclusive and effective consultation process.

Inclusion is important, without a doubt. My experience is that those who want to be engaged, find a way, while those who don’t, aren’t. Scale and scope of the project should determine the level of effort needed for consultation. Bigger projects put in more effort, while smaller ones put in less.

A inclusão também deve considerar as barreiras linguísticas e culturais. Talvez exista a necessidade de traduzir informações técnicas ou para diferentes idiomas/ dialetos.

Inclusion isn't just a box to tick; it's the foundation of meaningful consultation. Engage with marginalized groups through targeted outreach and personalized communication methods. For instance, in one of my projects, we set up mobile consultation units to reach remote communities, ensuring their participation. Providing multiple avenues for feedback—like SMS, local radio, and community liaisons—ensures that everyone, regardless of their access to technology or mobility, can contribute. Tailoring your approach to the specific needs of these groups is key to genuine inclusion.

Take the Brixton Central project in London as a prime example of innovative community consultation. This project used a co-design approach, involving local residents, businesses, and other stakeholders directly in the planning process. One of the things I was impressed with in this project was organized pop-up events, interactive workshops, and online surveys to gather diverse perspectives. One innovative method was using digital storytelling, where community members shared their visions for the area through short videos. This approach not only made the consultation more engaging but also ensured that the final development plan truly reflected the community’s identity and aspirations.

A construção da paz exige abordar traumas históricos e promover a reconciliação. Além dos mecanismos formais, a integração de práticas culturais tradicionais e a criação de espaços seguros para diálogos abertos são imprescindíveis. Também é muito importante garantir a proteção física e psicológica dos participantes para uma participação genuína.

Co-production is increasingly seen as being essential rather than community consultation and, indeed, some of the above examples seem to be co-production by communities rather than just community engagement. However, we still have a long way to go to get proper community engagement yet alone proper community co-production. Too often the bear minimum of statutory consultation (letting people know what is happening) is claimed to be community consultation, and community consultation is claimed to be community engagement. We still have a long, long, way to go.