Stakecamp 2018

Description of the event: The format of the event is open space (unconference).  The purpose of the event is to bring together a diverse cross section of the consultation & engagement community (from providers to the public and private sector).  The target audience is anybody with an interest in the subject, including lobbyists, but particularly those with a ‘duty to consult’ (i.e. public sector).  However, it may also appeal to professionals who are involve in stakeholder management in an ‘internal’ sense.

The event is supported by Transport for London who are allowing us to use their building in Stratford (London).  TFL have a lot of interest in Stakeholder engagement for transport planning purposes but other organisations who are likely to benefit are police, health, utility companies, banks and any public function which wants to make better informed decisions.

How much they want: £300

What we will use the funding for: We have a number of costs.  A lot of these we are donating, such as our time and travel costs to the venue / doing a rekkie – creating websites etc.

However, we have some basic cash needs such as paying for catering and public liability insurance plus security overtime despite tFL donating their premises.  In terms of practical items, pens, sticky name labels, large format paper etc.  If we have any extras we will create some handouts to make the event more fun.

About them: I [Fraser Henderson] have a long history and background in government work, from the World Bank to local authorities.  I have also been an associate at ‘the consultation institute’ for over 12 years.  It is a best practice, not-for profit organisation who advocate best practice public engagement.  I also do occasional work for the stakeholder engagement software solution market.

Over this time, I have met a lot of public servants who strive to make informed decisions based on stakeholder input – but often this is not meaningful.  We are in a new era now with new participatory technologies but also moving towards continual engagement – at the same time as many consultations are getting overturned in the courts of law (e.g. https://www.consultationinstitute.org/worst-consultation-2017/).  So, there is a need to look at this agenda more closely.

The reason we want to put on the event is that there is no event this year from The Consultation Institute and other similar events tend to be very stale with fees attached for attending.  I want to shake things up a bit and bring together a crowd of people who would not normally mix in a farm more informal [fun] setting.  I have already enlisted the support of some ‘helpers’ – who are on the same mission http://stakecamp.com/contact/