Waterways Ireland

Overview and Learning Outcomes

The first trial was run with Waterways Ireland. Two very basic problems emerged to counteract the effectiveness of the consultation:

1. Insufficient resource allocation
2. Complicated legal issue presented on an overly complicated web page

In short, more was learned about what not to do than what to do from this trial.

Context

History of Waterways

Established in 1999 as one of six North/South Implementation Bodies, Waterways Ireland is responsible for inland waterways, principally for recreational purposes throughout Ireland (North and South).

A need for Equality

In 2005, as part of their ‘Equality Quality Assessment' (EQA), Waterways Ireland wished to establish a process of policy-making and screening in order to evaluate and ensure equality in all its policy operations.

Why E-Consultation?

Waterways Ireland decided to embark on an e-consultation process as part of their first Section 75 consultation on this issue. A key reason for adopting e-consultation was to increase engagement with the general public, as well as its usual clients.

Process and Planning

Waterways Ireland's E-Consultation concentrated on:

1. The Internal Screening Process
2. Policies for the Equality Impact Assessment

The consultation organisers adopted both traditional (non-technological) and technological elements in the consultation process. The electronic communications component that was new to them.

The website allowed potential respondents could browse online consultation documents and leave comments on discussion forums. Consultation organisers could also enter the first questions on to discussion forums to start off discussions. Each part of the website was reviewed by the organisers.

Expectations for e-consultation

Waterways Ireland wanted to utilise e-technology for two key reasons:

1. To open up the consultation to the general public.
2. To simplify the dissemination of complex and legalistic documentation.

Waterways Ireland viewed this consultation as a ‘trial run’ for another, major consultation that was going to be undertaken in the near future.

To manage expectations Waterways Ireland ran advertisements in local newspapers and some specialist publications. Organisers also phoned some clients to encourage participation.

The e-consultation

Although Waterways Ireland had set up servers for e-consultation, the discussion forums were not ready by the time e-mails requested people to begin contributing.

The consultation document was made into several web pages. Although this ensured everyone responded to the same text it did not account for differences in the people browse and read online web pages.

Although 12 people registered for online discussion forums, no one submitted comments. Instead, 6 respondents contributed on paper. The questions on the discussion forums did not emotionally engage potential respondents.

Outcomes

The usability of the E-Consultation website was a key concern. Online instructions wre unclear, options were confusing, the language was too technical and registration was not user-friendly. The site needed to be more concise and easier to use.

Conclusion

Areas of concern were:

1. Lack of Publicity and no review of advertisements
2. Lack of resources allocated to the E-Consultation
3. Nature of the consultation did not make for a user-friendly experience.
   1. Langauge used
   2. Browsing difficulty
   3. Nature of Questions asked

Learning outcomes:

1. Putting traditional processes on-line, without modification, does not work.
2. Because something is on-line doesn't mean people will come. It is not a better mousetrap. You still need publicity.