DocsConsultations
What is a consultation?
A consultation is a public question that asks the community for its views before a decision is made.
What is it?
A consultation is a formal way to ask the community what it thinks about a topic. It has a title, a sponsoring organisation, a closing date, and one or more questions.
The community responds through a public response form. Each response can be anonymous. Community OS groups the responses into themes so the organisers can see patterns, such as how many people raised transport or accessibility. When the consultation closes, the organisers publish an outcome that says what was decided and why.
When do you use it?
You use a consultation when a decision affects the community and you want their views first. You use it to:
- Ask about a proposed change or new service.
- Understand what people want or need.
- Show that the community was consulted before a decision.
- Report on what the community said.
Consultations are different from surveys. A consultation is usually a single public question with a published outcome. A survey collects structured answers from specific people.
Example
The trust is deciding whether to open a new community kitchen. Aroha, the coordinator, runs a consultation. She asks the community what they would use the kitchen for. Sixty people respond, including Wiremu, who answers from home using his screen reader. The responses cluster around three themes: cooking classes, shared meals, and food support. Aroha publishes the outcome, and the trust uses it to plan the kitchen.