When public dialogue? 2018-11-15T11:28:42+00:00

When public dialogue?

Sciencewise dialogues are commissioned to support the development of policy.

Answering ‘yes’ to more than one of these questions provides an indication of whether public dialogue is the appropriate way forward.

  • Is policy at an early stage of development?

  • Is there space for the public to genuinely influence the decision, policy or programme?

  • Is there potentially strong public interest, or overlapping and competing public interests?

  • Are there complex social and/or ethical issue which makes the potential choices difficult?

  • Can public interests and concerns be satisfied if understood and responded to early?

  • Is this an area where technical expertise and stakeholder views alone will not be sufficient?

  • Will successful implementation depend on getting the practicalities right?

When public dialogue should not be used

Public dialogue should not be used in the following situations.

  • When crucial decisions have already been made.

  • When engagement cannot realistically influence policy-making processes.

More about public dialogue

For more details see What is public dialogue? Frequently Asked Questions

About Dialogue

“It saves you a lot of difficulty further down the line if you do public dialogue early on.”
(Evaluation of Sciencewise, 2011)