How we consult

Consultation can be a powerful tool for improving the quality and value for money of services, and the communities of Gloucestershire expect and deserve good quality services and decisions.

With effective consultation we can ensure that services are targeted to what our communities want and need. It can improve our ability to measure customer satisfaction and help us to focus on continuous improvement of the services we provide.

Good consultation is more than sending out a questionnaire to find out what people think. It is about having a conversation between our communities, user groups, stakeholders and us. It is about recognising the importance of satisfying their needs and acknowledging the benefits in creating services that are focused on those needs.

Good consultation allows participants to give informed opinions on possible changes, future developments and new and existing services. It allows us to provide opportunity for comment on realistic choices.

Fundamental principles of good consultation are that we listen to what we are told, we use what we have been told as part of our decision making processes, we give feedback to participants and provide evidence on how the results of the consultation have been used.