The Health Canada Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement in Decision
Making
Level 2 Technique:
People's Panel (UK)
What Is It?
The people's panel was initiated in 1998 by the Service First
Unit of the British Cabinet Office. It was prompted by government
in recognition of the need to listen to and learn from people's
views over time. The unit commissioned a market research company
and the Birmingham University's School of Public Policy to set
up the "people's panel." The purpose of the panel is to increase
public involvement in government on a regional and national level,
and to assure that government is responsive to public needs. This
is an ongoing mechanism to involve ordinary citizens in a range
of issues.
The people's panel:
- enables government organizations to assess public views and
how/why they are changing
- provides an ongoing mechanism and list of representative individuals
to which government can use for any issue at different times
- is an ideal vehicle for examining cross-cutting issues.
The people's panel can be used to research a variety of issues,
such as the impact of government policies on public service, information
aspects of public service, and ideas or recommendations about public
policy and services. This research is then used to inform the public
service sectors, giving a real voice to the general public in policy
making.
How It Works
The people's panel consists of 5,000 adults over the age of 16,
randomly selected from across the country. The panel is designed
to be a representative cross section of the population; by gender,
age, background and other demographic factors. This panel then
provides a database of individuals that can be used for a wide
range of research and consultation, both quantitative and qualitative.
The database of individuals is a cost-effective means of identifying
representative groups and service users. It is also large enough
to do regional studies, allowing local research to be undertaken
and compared with national norms. It is time saving and more effective
as the members of the panel previously agreed to be consulted on
a regular basis about public service issues.
When Is It Most Useful?
- when a large sample audience is needed, for both qualitative
and quantitative analysis
- when two departments are interested in conducting research
at the same time, there will be cost-sharing benefits (e.g. setting
up a central resource like the people's panel, it is easier for
the sharing of data between departments)
- when attempting to determine change in ideas and opinions over
a period of time
- when regional data need to be compared to national data.
Logistics and Limits
The people's panel is a formula to be used on a national level,
rather than for regional or local uses. Initial start-up is both
timely and costly.
Cost Implications
Cost includes construction of a database of representative individuals,
staff and office to run this ongoing mechanism. Each government
organization would pay for use of the people's panel.
Expectation for Feedback or Follow-up
There is an expectation that all results from the people's panel
should be published for public and government use and research.
Timelines
It is an ongoing mechanism, with long preparation time lines due
to the number of people being contacted.
Potential Pitfalls
Although a representative cross section of the population, the
people's panel is not meant to represent the people absolutely;
rather, it is set up to inform the government on the ideas and
opinions of the people on public service so that they may better
assist the public.
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