After Consultation is Complete: All over but the buildingNavigation

THE BUILDING

If the finished development raises questions about the building code, the Zoning Bylaw, planning process or other building rules, consult with the City Planning and Development Department or call an architect or planner. These professionals know, or can find, the answers to your questions.

LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE

As you evaluate the consultation process, ask yourself:

  • How did the process go? What went well? What could we have done better?
  • Did all parties have the information needed to make wise decisions? If not, why not?
  • Did any participants complain about the process? Why? Were these complaints valid? What could we have done to avoid that complaint?
  • Did any participant compliment us on our role in the process? Why? How can we build on these strengths?
  • What skills were lacking?
  • What skills did we discover?
  • Do we need to engage specialists or can we be better trained to facilitate the process in the future?
  • Did the specialists we engaged meet the requirements?
  • Did we get the information we wanted?
  • Even if community members did not get the result that they had hoped, are they satisfied that they were heard and that we considered their views?

This evaluation is crucial, although it should be simple enough to avoid eating up too much energy. Keep the methodology proportionate to the time spent on consultation. 17

CONCLUSION

Consultation has many objectives, approaches, aims and results. The process is not linear, but roundabout. The milieu of public opinion, negotiation and consensus-building is more like a series of crazy traffic circles heading in a general direction than a precisely aligned set of intersections.

The over-arching purpose of consultation is to build mutual understanding of all stakeholders’ needs and positions and, to the greatest extent possible, accommodate those needs. Sometimes all needs cannot be satisfied. That does not necessarily mean the consultation process has failed, particularly if the parties apply what they have learned what they have learned to successfully shape Edmonton’s future.

"Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
—Vince Lombardi