The electoral campaign is a good time to make proposals to involve the public in a more transparent and efficient way in public policy making. In this last week before the election in France, an MP (from the goverment party) gave senior officials from local governement his views on the current consultation methods in a paper for Lettre du Cadre. Based on his assessment, Mr Planchet made proposals to curb "legislative inflation" (a general concern in France) by adopting a EU-style RIA and consultation scheme under scrutiny of an independent authority. For the most important reforms, the consultation should be held on a very wide basis, as a "national public debate" that could be triggered by a petition from a sufficient number of citizens. The existing Commission nationale du débat public would be in charge of organising such widescale consultation which would take inspiration from the Danish Board of Technology.
It might also take inspiration from some UK practice. Despite much public consultation in the UK failing to satisfy our Best Practice standards, much is first-class and truly impressive. The Consultation Institute (www.consultationinstitute.org) has delivered 13,000 person-days of training on consultation, so please feel free to contact us.
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