That this award only had one nomination last year tells its own story about public participation in Northern Ireland. All too often public bodies undertake consultation exercises simply because they’re demanded by law rather than because of the value it may bring those institutions or the communities they seek to serve.
As a result such public dialogue as there is are often conducted in an atmosphere of cynical tokenism or are seen from the outside as bland exercises in public relations.
And yet we persist, because we believe more and more it is critical that politicians and others find meaningful ways to connect with the people whose interests they seek to represent.
So what forms of public consultation do you know that worked, however modest? It might have been cheap and cheerful, or complex and expensive. So long as it was effective and a real example of institutions reaching out.
With your nominations, please try to include:
- What was the subject of the consultation?
- What format/structure did they use?
- Why would say it worked?
You can make your nominations on the main Slugger site. Be as expansive as you wish, so we can make the best pitch possible to both the reader and judges panels who may not be as familiar as you with your favoured candidate.
