What is e-Consultation?

Local councils use electronic media for a variety of communication with the community. You may already use online technology to:


 * provide information to the community
 * enable business with Council online (eg paying Council fees, filling out forms)
 * encourage active and direct involvement of citizens in decision making (eg electronic referenda)
 * engage the public in discussion and consultation

In this Guide, we are specifically focusing on the last of these, “e-consultation.”

“e-Consultation” refers to the use of electronic media for:


 * developing greater citizen participation in government generally
 * consulting with community members in the policy making process
 * gathering views in order to make a decision

Electronic media used in e-consultation include:


 * Internet forums (also known as “e-forums”)
 * online polls
 * online surveys
 * online feedback forms
 * webinars (online seminars or meetings)
 * webcasting meetings
 * podcasting
 * electronic voting

This Guide focuses on e-forums as the main vehicle to start up dialogue amongst community members and local government on local council policy issues. The Guide also covers online polls and online surveys as tools which can be used in conjunction with e-forums.