Public Consultation Toolkit - Civil Service College

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Public Consultation Toolkit 23 24 Public Consultation Toolkit 2. Sensitive/controversial issues For topics/issues which are controversial, emotive or which may provoke strong, opposing viewpoints, the engagement needs to be managed carefully. Agencies need to show sensitivity towards the stakeholders’ concerns, while at the same time gain trust from stakeholders through open and honest consultation. Case 7: Proposed amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) Agency/country: • Ministry of Health (MOH), Singapore Background: • The public, local and international medical community had strong and quite emotional views on organ donation-related issues. When MOH proposed the amendments to the HOTA, an extensive public consultation was conducted. • In MOH’s case, the Public Consultation Document and the proposed Draft Bill were put up for public consultation so that the public and stakeholders could see the text amendments for themselves. Consultation Process: • MOH took a transparent view and shared the various possible solutions to the problem openly at the various forums and through the media. • MOH engaged the stakeholders early to clarify policy areas to the public (in this case, the definition and limit of compensation for organ donation). • The fronting by Minister for Health demonstrated the commitment and seriousness of MOH in listening to the stakeholders: - MOH opened the public dialogue sessions for media coverage so that issues were aired and discussed in the open. - Wide range of people such as the medical and professional bodies (e.g. Academy of Medicine, College of Family Physicians, Singapore Medical Association, Society of Transplantation, Singapore Diabetic Society of Singapore, Law Society and National Kidney Foundation) were consulted. • In MOH’s case, the Public Consultation Document and the proposed Bill were put up for public consultation so that the public and stakeholders could see the text amendments for themselves. Follow up: • LiveOn, an organ donation campaign, was launched as a follow-up after the amendments were made to sustain awareness and acceptance of organ donation.
Public Consultation Toolkit 25 26 Public Consultation Toolkit Outcomes: • Consultation results showed that Singaporeans understood the need and were generally supportive of the proposed amendments to HOTA. This was largely because there were extensive discussion and transparency in the consultation process. Learning points: • Consultation on emotive issues need to be managed carefully through - Early consultation, - Well-managed public education on the key considerations and options available; and - Displaying sensitivity to stakeholders’ concerns The concept of ‘socialising’ For topics/issues which are emotive in nature, it can be useful to ‘socialise’ policy ideas early. This is when possible policy ideas are disseminated to the ground to generate discussion amongst social groups as a means of seeding ideas for policy options. For example, the idea of Means Testing by MOH was raised several years prior to formal public consultation in 2008 and its eventual implementation in 2009. As Means Testing was a rather unpopular policy, particularly among the middle-income group who felt deprived of affordable healthcare, MOH adopted this approach to socialise the concept, to generate ideas, feedback and discussions on means-testing criteria. The extensive dialogues gradually helped to address ground concerns and facilitate smoother implementation. 3. Feedback on specific issues and with targeted groups Some consultation exercises may yield lower response from the public due to the nature of the issue or policy at hand. The possible causes can be lack of public interest, lack of public awareness and inaccessible feedback mechanisms. Agencies should consider the following to enhance the level of participation and feedback: • Establishing checkpoints during the course of the consultation period to monitor the response rate, • Extending the duration of the consultation period, • Increasing awareness through different tools and channels; and • Soliciting feedback from specific stakeholders by collaborating with partners. Policies which are highly complex or technical in nature generally tend to attract lower volume of feedback, particularly if the stakeholders do not understand the issue at hand (e.g., financial regulations). For such policies, agencies should choose to target industry players and experts with the relevant knowledge and interest in the issues. If the wider population is consulted, agencies need to ensure that the information provided for the consultation is accessible and easy to understand.
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Public Consultation Toolkit - Civil Service College

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