COMMUNITY CONSULTANTS LTD

Clarity The outcomes from consultation studies are meaningless unless those consulted have really understood the questions being asked. However complex the policy issues, it is essential that the policy choices involved are explained in ways that can be readily understood by all those consulted.

Transparency Whatever methodologies are employed, the consultation or evaluation process must be seen to be both open and fair. We are committed to involving both decision makers and the public they serve as fully as possible in the studies we undertake.

Policy specific Clients never commission research for its own sake. The data from any study must feed in and support the decision making process both in terms of its relevance and timetable. This means liaising with clients at the start of a project to ensure there is a clear policy focus and then, when the study is completed, working with them to draw out the policy implications from the results.

As consultants we advise our clients on the most effective ways of conducting their research in order to achieve their policy objectives. The aim is always to provide reliable results within the constraints of both budget and timetable.

As society becomes more diverse it poses challenges for public services. The approach of 'one size fits all' becomes less appropriate for service delivery and the same applies to consultation processes. Urged to 'listen to the customer', organisations find themselves having to deliver not to 'the community' but to a range of different communities, often with widely differing cultures which can make them 'hard to reach'. The reasons why groups can be 'hard to reach' range vary enormously from age or alienation to language and life style. These issues are no longer confined principally to the larger cities as changing patterns of migration are impacting on public services in rural areas.