Resident Participation Framework

Resident Participation Framework: Themes from the first round of resident workshops

Policy and Research Team 16/12/2021

Introduction

Newham Council wants to put residents at the heart of decision making at the council to help us to make better informed decisions. One of the ways we are doing this is to develop and establish a Resident Participation Framework to help improve the quality of activities residents participate in and the experiences Newham residents have when they participate. Developing a Resident Participation Framework was a recommendation from the Newham Democracy and Civic Participation Commission. You can find out more about the commission and the recommendations here.

This write-up sets out the themes of the discussions at the first round of workshops with residents. These resident workshops explored the issues surrounding:

• How we can tackle problems residents face with participation, with a focus on getting involved in the first place and finding out about how their contribution was used and the decisions that were made
• The most effective ways for involving residents
• Expectations for taking part

How residents have been involved so far

Resident involvement in this project started with a short online questionnaire hosted on Newham Co-create in October 2021 that asked respondents about the challenges we face and how they would like to participate. A summary of the questionnaire responses can be found on the Newham Co-Create project page here.

Responses to that questionnaire were used as the starting point for discussions in a first round of workshops with residents held in November 2021 to explore these issues further. Residents were also made aware of the first round of workshops through the following channels and asked to register their interest through the Newham Co-create project page:

• Email to registered Newham Co-Create users
• Item included in the Communications Team Newham Update Resident Email
• Item included in mail out to Community Neighbourhood Teams’ mailing lists
• Tackling Racism, Inequality, and Disproportionality Time to Talk resident sessions

Three workshops were delivered with residents for this first round. The workshops were delivered on the following dates:

• Tues 23rd Nov, afternoon, 12 participants
• Weds 24th Nov, afternoon, 2 participants
• Weds 24th Nov, evening, 5 participants
• A 1-1 interview was also conducted with a resident that was unable to attend the workshops

Barriers to residents getting involved in the first place

The main theme from the discussion on tackling barriers to residents getting involved in the first place was that pro-active communications and outreach were essential. This was important for raising awareness of participation opportunities and reaching those who may not know that opportunities to participate are available. Participants thought that it was important to reach out in multiple ways, including social media, email, leaflets through doors, and face-to-face presence in libraries, community centres, and high streets.

While participants saw some value in the use of social media to communicate about participation opportunities, participants also thought the impact of this channel was limited. Broadly, participants made clear that passive communications that relied on residents seeking the information out themselves was not sufficient, that a passive approach meant that those who are more isolated and/or seldom heard tend not to be participating, and that relying on this approach was lazy.

Accessibility of information and the location of activities was the next largest theme in the discussions of barriers to residents getting involved in the first place. The accessibility of information is linked to pro-active communications and outreach; it centres on the need to provide information in additional ways to digital and online formats, particularly face-to-face in high footfall locations and hard-copy communications through peoples’ letter boxes. Having one point of contact for each local area who had a focus on getting people together was also suggested as a means to share information more effectively.

Participants also suggested the need to consider residents whose first language is not English when providing information, and that the language used in relation to digital media can be challenging for many too. Accessibility of location was also seen as important to maximise convenience of in-person sessions for participants and to meet any accessibility needs of participants.

Other themes in the discussion around residents getting involved included:

• Improvements needed with the Newham Co-create online platform; in terms of needing to raise awareness, improve the functionality and reduce the volume of emails sent through it
• Digital divide is a key issue to address and mitigate when delivering communicating about participation opportunities
• Libraries are an important location of awareness raising
• Providing multiple ways to get involved was important for access
• Hard to know which council mailing lists you are part of
• Need to have simple routes to find out about opportunities
• Need to provide clarity on process

Ensuring participants know how their contribution was used and the decisions that were made as a result of their participation

Ensuring participants know how their contribution was used and the decisions that were made as a result of their participation was discussed less than how to get residents involved; however, participants set out some important considerations. The largest theme was that transparency throughout the process was crucial. This included publishing details of what was discussed during participation activities and the number of people involved. There should also be transparency on any decision making process to ensure that decisions aren’t skewed by stakeholders who are outside of the participation process and that participants haven’t been made aware of.

The next largest themes were that participants should be given multiple ways to find out about the outcomes of their participation and any decisions made. Outcomes and decisions made should be made available in an accessible online location, but it should also be pro-actively communicated to participants, and made available at in-person locations such as libraries, if appropriate.

Participants also identified that it was important to provide follow-up information throughout a participation process to participants and at the end to ‘close the participation loop’ on how their contribution was used and the decisions that were made.

Other distinct points made by participants across the discussions included:

• Social media is a good way to keep participants updated
• Newham Co create can be used to share how the council used contributions
• Communications need to be efficient so finding out is not a burden
• Resident-led activities remove barriers to finding out how contributions were used and the decisions that were made
• Well managed contact lists are important for letting participants know about outcomes

Mutual expectations

Participants were asked what residents should be able to expect from the council and council officers when they take part in participation activities and what might be expected of residents when they took part. Discussion across the sessions made clear that there was relatively a narrow range of mutual expectations from a participant’s point of view. These mutual expectations centred on mutual respect, treating all involved with dignity, and listening to and engaging with issues being discussed.

There was a much wider range of expectations that session participants had of the council and its officers. 

1.     Transparency

Transparency was the most substantial theme in this discussion.

Participants’ expectation of transparency covers the whole process of a project. Participants should be able to:

• Understand which stakeholders and participants are included in a project and how all involved had been invited
• Get clarity on what the council is trying to achieve with a project and the value that participants bring
• Access published content on what was discussed during participation activities
• Understand how the decision making process takes place, who is involved, how views have been used to show it has been a fair process, and clarity on how and why a decision is made
• Understand why ideas are not taken up
• Receive updates and feedback related to their participation

An important part of transparency was that officers should be open minded, enable participants to lead the discussion, and not limit discussion to suit predetermined ideas. Transparency should also demonstrate that the activity is not tokenistic.

2.     Project design

Efficient design and messaging was the next largest theme in expectations. The expectation of efficient design and messaging was fairly broad. Project design was crucial, which included ensuring participation processes were only as long as was needed and were kept as simple as possible. Accurate and timely information was also a large part of this, including setting out clear and accurate information on the aims, topics, process, timings, progress and impact of participation for projects. Good facilitation and design of activities was also important to ensure that all participants are able to contribute and that additional concerns of participants are captured and addressed as well as maintaining the focus of activities.

3.     Ambition

The next largest theme for residents’ expectations was that the council should be ambitious with participation. While some topics of participation will be relatively small in scale, residents should also be routinely involved in topics that are substantial and have serious consequences. The council should also see participation activities as part of a wider relationship with residents, it should lead by example, and participation should be about learning, innovation and creative experiences for all.

Other themes within the context of residents’ expectations included:

• Those delivering participation activities should enable resident-led discussion
• Projects should be designed to accommodate and address wider concerns or interests held by residents
• Reward and recognition for participation can be broad and should include demonstrating the value of participants’ contributions
• Participation activities should be accessible and support provided where needed
• Participants should be able to make connections with others who have similar concerns
• Council officers will be proactive when they recruit participants and publicise activities
• Council officers involved in a project should be available for contact and participants should know how to contact them
• Participation activities should be local to those taking part
• Participation should be recognisable in the decisions and outputs of a project

Improving experience of taking part

Participants were asked what they thought the most effective ways for involving residents were, and how the council could improve residents’ participation experiences.

1.     Providing multiple ways for residents to get involved

Providing multiple ways for residents to get involved was the largest theme in this discussion. Participants explained that residents will want to get involved in different ways and the level of input and commitment residents would like to or are able to contribute will be varied. Participation processes should use a mix of methods to support participation, both in scale of the commitment required and whether it is online or face-to-face. Participants thought that while this would contribute to a better experience because residents could tailor their participation to their situation and not miss out on something they are interested in, it would also enable a wider range of residents to take part. In other words, options for participation should not be ‘all or nothing’.

2.     Being accessible and inclusive

Accessibility and inclusivity was also major a theme in the discussion of improving residents’ experiences taking part. Participants discussed the need to translate materials, consider how those who are unable to attend in person and those with no or limited access to a computer will be able to take part, and that a passive ‘open access’ approach does not mean that more seldom heard groups will be involved. Participants stressed that seldom heard groups need to be identified for each participation activity and those delivering the project or process need to make a conscious effort to make these residents aware and get them involved. Participants also made clear that it was important for those taking part in an activity to be diverse to ensure representation and to bring a combination of lived experiences to bear on a topic at the same time. There were also more practical considerations discussed that would improve accessibility and inclusivity, including providing childcare options and providing a range of reward and recognition, such as food and refreshments, financial payments and incentives, and services.

3.     Providing support for digital access and connecting communities

The next largest theme for improving taking part was providing support for digital access and connected communities. Discussion on this theme was quite varied, but it focused on creating ways for people to network in different spaces. This included creating online and in-person spaces for people on the same street/neighbourhood to solve problems together (building on the experience of mutual aid groups). It also included the need to consider how to include residents who are housebound and/or with no or limited computer access.

Other themes that were important for improving and providing good experiences for residents taking part were:

• Those leading the project or process must be responsive. This includes timely response to participants’ queries, concerns, and complaints, ensuring that issues raised are dealt with, and including Councillors in this process where appropriate
• High quality facilitation to ensure all participants have the space they need to contribute
• The scope of participation activities and processes should go beyond functional participation and include learning, innovation and creative experiences
• Topics should be substantive
• Give careful consideration of the timing of certain activities, e.g. in-person evening events can be convenient for some but also mean others have to rush home from work to attend
• Participants are treated with respect and dignity
• Those leading the project or process must provide clear goals and set out for participants what the activity will achieve
• Residents should be able to identify topics to resolve with resident participation, not just the council

Next steps

We are currently drafting the content and guidance for the framework, building on this rich feedback. Residents who have expressed an interest in this Resident Participation Framework project, including the participants in the sessions summarised above, are being asked to take part in a range of in depth sessions over January and February 2022 to discuss the content we are drafting in more detail and identify improvements to the issues

This second round of resident workshops for January and February 2022 will enable in-depth discussion on specific aspects of the Resident Participation Framework, including:

• Newham Co-Create
• How to best do different types of participation and involve residents, e.g. co-production, consultation, and cross-cutting issues like inclusivity
• Opportunities for residents to develop new skills for participation
• Opportunities for residents to develop new skills for resident-led activities
• How best to address residents' expectations of participation e.g. providing context, efficient design, transparency, and addressing wider concerns.
• How we best develop the framework into a toolkit and training that is interactive and works for everyone

Residents who would like to take part in the second round of sessions on the above issues can register their interest and choose what they would like to be involved with here.

Any queries about this project can be emailed to research@newham.gov.uk