How to set up a Private Consultation

Private or closed consultations can be a useful tool for engagement professionals. 

Here are some of their uses:

• Deliberative engagement: when a representative group is tasked with evaluating ideas, policies and proposals of government and making recommendations based on their findings. This  includes citizen juries, citizens’ assemblies and community forums.
• Stakeholder management: for collaborating on a project or proposal before opening the consultation to the broader community.

Step one: Create your project

To set up a private consultation, first create your project using these tools:

1. The main Project Page is an overview of the project.
2. Add Maps and Documents to provide essential information.
3. Add Surveys, Idea Boards and other participation tools to encourage engagement, understand different viewpoints, and gather insights.
4. A Timeline will give participants an overview of the planning stages for the project. 
5. Create a series of Events, such as online workshops, co-design sessions and roundtable discussions. These are invaluable for building relationships, collaboration and building consensus.
6. As the project progresses, inform the group with project Updates and Report on Survey results.

Step two: Set a password

The next step of the project is to limit who can have access. 

1. In Preview or Edit mode, click on the ellipsis on the right hand side of the screen.
2. Select Restriction Settings.

3. In Restriction Settings, choose a password. Tick the box to hide the project from public view. Click Save. 

Step three: Invite participants

The final step is to invite people to join the private engagement project. Email the project's website link to the group and share the password. When they access the link using the password, they will be able to register for the project. They will have access to the participation tools, discussion forums and get notifications and project updates. 

District Engage makes it easy to create a private or closed consultation project. Find out more about using digital tools to run a private consultation or deliberative engagement in our article.