Recognising the diverse services we provide, our consultation toolkit supports various consultation methods and tools.
Updated in 2025, it complements the Consultation Strategic Framework by providing practical guidance and resources.
It is designed to help all our employees plan, manage, and execute consultations effectively, ensuring that stakeholders are genuinely involved in the decision-making process. You can discover essential project management tips, and access additional resources to enhance your consultation activities.
The toolkit emphasises the importance of robust project management and early planning and offers a straightforward, step-by-step reference guide to help you with plan and conduct consultations with residents and other key groups. Key points include:
- consulting and coordinating with departmental lead officers and legal services from the beginning
- getting clear permission to develop consultation activities
- following best practices and practical tips for running a consultation
- analysing results and providing clear feedback to stakeholders
It is organised so you can easily find and use the steps you need based on where you are in the process.
The tools and advice are integrated into each step, but you can also access them individually through the toolkit’s tools section or the document library.
Each step is explained as follows, with more guidance and resources available in the toolkit for each stage of the process.
Easy access guides to toolkit
- Introduction
- Key considerations before you start
- Timeline and breakdown of consultation process
- Planning your consultation:
- Step 1: What are you trying to find out?
- Step 2: Who are you consulting?
- Step 3: How are you planning to consult?
- Step 4: Do you have the necessary skills and resources?
- Step 5: How will you evaluate and feedback results?
- Keeping your consultation data safe
- Glossary
- Appendix 1: Legal services public consultation advice/decision record
- Appendix 2: Ladder of co-production
- Appendix 3: Choosing your consultation method