Hybrid meetings are still relatively new and one of the best ways of planning for public contribution in hybrid meetings to be impactful is to identify what works and what does not work , and then share that information . That is the purpose of this report .
New technologies and new functionality for existing technology is continually being developed and we can all benefit by sharing our experiences of using these . Not all will work well for hybrid meetings , but some are likely to improve the experience .
If we can learn from each other ’ s experiences as well as our own , our collective understanding of what makes
for effective hybrid meetings will grow much quicker than if we do it on our own . That makes best use of public contributors ’ time .
Ensuring public contribution in governance
When using a hybrid meeting approach for public contributors to take part in University governance processes , it is crucially important for the meeting organiser and the chair to ensure that public contributors are not at a disadvantage compared to staff members in attendance . For example . if the discussion in a meeting refers to a policy , procedure or regulation , then it should not be assumed that public contributors will be aware of the content of it or have access to it .
As far as is reasonably possible , public contributors need to have access to all the documents they may need sufficiently ahead of meetings .
Where discussion is planned on a policy or similar document , it is a good idea to discuss this with public contributors at a premeeting . The Chair should also look out for instances during meetings when policies , regulations , or other documents are mentioned and check with public contributors whether they are familiar with them . It is difficult to read a document whilst following the discussion in a meeting at the same time , so where public contributors are not familiar with a policy or other document , it will help if a brief verbal summary is given at the time . Access to the document can then be provided after the meeting , with training if required on how to access it .
10