Planning inclusive opportunities
For many public contributors , the social side of public involvement and engagement work is a key reason why they choose to take part and the networking , camaraderie and social support that goes on before and after meetings is an important part of it .
This is especially important for those who don ’ t have other connections , but during the early months of the pandemic a lot of public involvement and engagement activity just stopped . Public contributors have since talked about how this “… left people adrift ” with a sense that they “… had been made redundant or weren ’ t wanted anymore ”.
However , it is important for those organising public involvement and engagement activities to be aware that significant concern remains among public contributors about the safety of attending events in person rather than online .
Offering the option to attend meetings and other events either online or in person supports inclusivity by giving public contributors a choice of how to attend . However , COVID-19 safety is just one issue to consider in relation to being inclusive when planning public involvement and engagement activities .
For example , some people do not have the technology required to be able to attend meetings online and not everyone can be available during the daytime or early evening to attend meetings .
This means that when planning inclusive opportunities , it is important to consider the format of the activity . A hybrid meeting may be a suitable approach if a meeting format is chosen , but it is important to also consider other options , for example , asynchronous public contribution , which could be by telephone or , for example , using a smartphone application .
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Online meetings save travelling , but they tend to be quite business-like and transactional unless there is a special effort to include the social side . Public contributors have said how “… relationships are not the same in online meetings …” and for some this has been a key reason to choose to attend meetings in person again .
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