UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) 
Welcome to our digital citizen engagement toolkit which is designed to support local authorities (LAs) in using digital tools for improved consultations and engagement in planning.
Developed with a user-centred approach, our toolkit follows a 7-step user journey to support an effective project approach to consultation. The guidance and tools referenced are designed to help improve community interactions, fostering a more inclusive and participatory planning system.
Digital Citizen Engagement (DCE) products and projects should align with the Local Digital Declaration by being designed around the needs of people, supporting technology and data interoperability, and safe and secure ways of sharing information.
Securing funding and approval for digital planning approaches is crucial. Local authority (LA) planning officers must highlight digital opportunities and support the need for change. A persuasive business case is key, as it lays the groundwork for support and addresses internal hurdles, such as convincing senior managers of its value. While many LAs involved in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) PropTech Innovation Fund received funding for their project, a level of senior buy-in was still required to justify resourcing and prioritisation alongside delivering wider planning and consultation projects. Gaining support for digital tools varies among local authorities, depending on willingness to innovate and alignment with broader strategies. Beyond developing a business case, generating buy-in involves understanding and communicating the potential of new solutions and approaches. To support this, we have provided additional resources developed through the PropTech Innovation Fund: A business case is a document that outlines the reasons for undertaking a project from a financial and strategic perspective. Many councils use, or base their business case templates on, the ‘five case model’ from HM Treasury which is set out in the Guide to developing the Project Business Case. An effective business case should support your project by: Surrey County Council: “It helps, when building a business case, to emphasise the wider corporate priorities that a project like this can meet, particularly around community engagement and new ways of working. That way it’s not just seen as a project for the benefit of planning/placemaking/environment but other directorates too. It then becomes a project of corporate significance.” Develop and agree a clear project mission statement A project mission statement clearly declares the project’s purpose, goals, and values, guiding decision-making throughout. Ensure it aligns with the digital project’s focus on technological advancements, user experience, and transformation, explaining how it will address challenges and offer innovative solutions. Plymouth City: They also reported that it is important to align the development of consistent objectives for potential project delivery and funding spend.” To design an effective mission statement and design an impactful project: Conduct stakeholder workshops to inform project outcomes, project delivery and resource planning These workshops could include: Identify opportunities to link in outcomes with wider council and corporate objectives Your digital consultation will raise awareness of your specific project but also your council as a whole, so it’s important to ensure all messages align with wider goals. Plan sufficient time for approvals The sign-off process may take longer for a digital project as senior stakeholders familiarise themselves with new approaches, and you may need to adapt to unexpected challenges. Demonstrating the value of a new approach Reiterating the positive impact of digital approaches is helpful in continuing to ensure buy-in.
Successful Digital Citizen Engagement (DCE) projects require a diverse team working effectively together. Clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes from the start ensure good communication, understanding of project goals, and smooth collaboration. A clear structure maintains efficiency and teamwork throughout the project. Promote diversity and divergent perspectives Cross-functional collaboration Supplier support Changing scope and nature of teams South West Hertfordshire: Define team roles A project management approach Regular meetings should be scheduled between project team members to make sure work is progressing well, is not duplicated and remains in scope. Use adaptive project management tools Using software and methodologies designed to support project management can be helpful. Have a look at tools like Trello and Monday.com, which have free versions you can start using straight away to organise your team and help prioritise tasks. Identify and establish baseline data Clearly define your objectives early Defining your objectives from the start helps you and your team stay on the same page. Your digital project objectives are the outcomes you hope to achieve, so make them ‘SMART’: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound. Clear objectives will help you track your progress, measure success and keep them aligned with your overall organisational plans. Regular updates Decide who will get progress updates, how you’ll share them and who will handle the reporting. Look for any connections to other projects, inside and outside your organisation, and how they might impact each other. It may be that the reporting frequency should change at different stages of your project timeline. Risk management Identify risks, assess their impact and likelihood and develop strategies to manage these effectively. Consider creating a risk register to regularly refer to in planning and progress meetings. This will help you keep track of the status of risks and agree risk mitigations. Government frameworks on how to assess and manage risks are available. Financial oversight Work with internal finance teams and if applicable your suppliers, to review budgets and expenditure, and run audits and assessments. This will maintain transparency and accountability and ensure you are keeping to your budget. The majority of projects within the PropTech Innovation Fund have been led by planners, however a range of multi-disciplinary specialisms were brought in to support delivery.
When first using digital citizen engagement tools, you may need new suppliers or partners. Market research helps identify those who align with your needs. Establish a strong partnership through a structured onboarding process and track progress with key performance indicators (KPIs). Monitoring these metrics ensures the project stays on track and maximizes collaboration value. The right tool for your consultation will depend on the specific needs of your project. You should consider: The DDaT Playbook sets out key policies and guidance for how digital projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered. Establishing good working practices and efficient processes with new partners is crucial for successful consultation. Consult with your central procurement team before starting to ensure alignment with existing frameworks and approved suppliers. Speaking to sector specialists can help introduce potential suppliers. Some local planning authorities (LPAs) used demo days or surveys through the PropTech Innovation Fund to engage the market and find suitable suppliers. Early meetings and team alignment Early meetings with prospective suppliers are valuable for exploring collaboration methods These sessions allow for in-depth discussions with suppliers and also provide an opportunity to involve team members from your organisation. A project brief summarises a project for suppliers, stakeholders, and team members. It should include objectives, timeline, target audience, and scope, drawing from your business case. A good project brief ensures everyone understands the project and its deliverables and helps suppliers grasp the problem you aim to solve. Set targets and metrics, including engagement targets and metrics Including metrics in your project brief supports successful project management by providing a quantifiable way to measure progress, assess performance, and track goals. Specifying metrics creates a clear evaluation framework, helping stakeholders understand success criteria. Including engagement targets in these metrics will set expectations and desired involvement levels, guiding the team and supporting success. Epsom and Ewell Borough Council: “Work with other authorities who have already begun the digital journey to understand how their briefs were developed and likely budget expectations and pressures.” Creating an onboarding strategy for a supplier is important for effective partnership. A well-structured onboarding strategy promotes clear communication, understanding and collaborative working. Structuring the supplier onboarding strategy involves these components: Before you onboard your supplier it may be beneficial to consider how you’ll monitor and evaluate you and your delivery partners’ work. Having clear monitoring and evaluation frameworks will help you to track, analyse and report on relevant information and data throughout your project. Create project KPIs Helpful resources: To support procurement of projects delivered in Round 1 and Round 2 of the PropTech Innovation Fund, a specialist consultant (Advice Cloud) provided advice and troubleshooting. Workshops and supplier demo days were also held across pilot teams to share lessons learned and knowledge of market capabilities and capacities. There are a range of approaches to identifying and onboarding your supplier. Different procurement pathways used by LPAs through the PropTech Innovation Fund included GCloud, Spark, PowerBI and Open Tender. A recording of the public sector procurement session organised with TechUK is available on YouTube.
This stage facilitates the implementation or codesign of your engagement strategy or digital tool. Every digital project should be grounded in a well-defined plan, clearly outlining the purpose, target audience and objectives. When developing digital engagement tools, prioritise accessibility to ensure user-friendliness for all. Encourage participation through surveys, polls, and open-ended questions for valuable insights and transparent communication, fostering trust and credibility in the consultation process. Before starting consultation or engagement activities you should ask your organisation’s central communications team for guidance and support. Central communications teams play an important role ensuring alignment with organisational messaging standards and hold valuable information about the target users that can enhance your approach. They can also advise on the best channels to use, and how you can ensure content is promoted through established corporate channels. It’s important to find out about your target audience and how to reach them. Understanding your audience helps you tailor your engagement strategies to reach the right people. Identify and define your target audience Define your target audience by considering demographics, interests, and relevant groups or stakeholders. Utilise existing data like census data or past engagement records for insights. Conduct surveys, feedback sessions, or develop personas to support this process. Understand your audience Tailor your engagement strategy to meet the specific needs and interests of your target audience. Conduct thorough research to understand their diverse interests and values, whether engaging with a small local community or a larger area. Establish a clear scope Clearly outline what the consultation will cover and what falls outside of scope. This manages expectations and maintains focus and effectiveness throughout the consultation process. Factor-in time to reflect, iterate and test Effective engagement strategies allow time for reflection and iteration. Allocate time to test assumptions and gather feedback from stakeholders. Develop a structured process for reflection and iteration, incorporating stakeholder input. Make changes based on feedback to enhance the effectiveness of your engagement efforts. Chesterfield Borough Council: Understand the context Make sure all engagement activities are relevant and timely for stakeholders. Give people plenty of notice, especially for events requiring high attendance. Think about stakeholders’ daily routines and context, so that events can fit into their schedules. Strategic messaging Tailor your messaging throughout the project timeline, releasing messages in thematic sequences to effectively engage a range of users with varying interests. Craft messages that resonate with your audience, addressing concerns in a relatable language and tone. You might find it useful to develop a guide outlining key themes and language for different project stages to support your team. Use communication channels that meet the needs of your audience. Run research to understand your stakeholders’ preferred communication platforms. Adapt your messaging to suit the channel you choose. Consider a variety of channels to get to a wider audience and attract those who may not have participated before. Examples from across the PropTech Innovation Fund include: Social Media The use of social media can offer many benefits to any project or communications approach. From helping raise awareness, increase reach as well as allowing a much more detailed approach to targeting audience groups utilising social media channels is now essential to any successful campaign. Some local planning authorities (LPAs) used paid-for social media channels to optimise the reach and effectiveness of their communications. Although the fee may initially be daunting those using paid social media may achieve more reach and better conversion rates on their engagement platform. Central LPA communications teams should be contacted to discuss the use of paid advertising before committing to any campaigns. More guidance on how to use social media. South Cambridgeshire District Council: Hybrid events Hybrid events, combining in-person and digital elements, boost project awareness and participation by overcoming traditional barriers to public engagement. Integrating feedback received in person with digital platforms maximises engagement impact. Offering in-person support for digital engagement ensures more inclusive participation. Ensure a seamless and accessible user experience to connect with stakeholders effectively. Simply transferring a non-digital survey online isn’t enough. Whether it’s a consultation portal, interactive map, or community survey, easy navigation impacts the quality of insights. Adhering to WCAG standards ensures your engagement is inclusive and legally compliant, such as providing ‘alt text’ on images and making platforms compatible with screen readers. Engaging content is essential for successful consultations. When people are engaged, they are more likely to participate in the consultation process and provide meaningful feedback. Work with communications colleagues to: How you ask questions in a consultation is important because it affects the answers you get. Good questions lead to better answers, which means better data for you to work with. There’s no single right way to ask a question but you should: Cotswolds Council: Demographic questions For some statutory consultations you need to ask demographic questions and the response rate for this information can depend on where it is placed within your survey. The PropTech Innovation Fund found that: Engage with younger people Many projects identified young people as a key audience that had been previously under-engaged. Before involving young people, collaborate with LPA communications, data management, and safeguarding teams to ensure compliance with GDPR and safeguarding laws. Engaging young people means giving them a voice in shaping the process, not just seeking their opinions. This approach provides diverse feedback, fresh ideas, and deeper insights, making consultations more effective and relevant. Involving young people in planning empowers them and ensures the final outcomes reflect community needs. The PropTech Innovation Fund pilots found it useful to: Key considerations when engaging with young people When deciding to engage with young people there are some considerations to be aware of: Indirect involvement and impact Young people might not always respond directly to campaigns. Their value can lie in their ability to create momentum and generate excitement around the cause. Focus on gaining their enthusiasm to build positive engagement and support for the campaign. Offline focus and resource allocation The PropTech Innovation Fund projects found young people had a preference for offline engagement. Allocate sufficient budget, time and resources to run in-person events and activities. Prioritise these events to connect with a young audience and make a meaningful impact. South West Herts Joint Strategic Plan: Ensuring safety and security measures When engaging with young people, especially in-person, prioritise their safety and wellbeing. Implement safeguarding measures to create a secure environment for both participants and organisers. Check in with central LPA communications, data and safeguarding teams when planning activities to ensure you are adhering to relevant guidance and legal requirements. How the PropTech Innovation Fund went beyond traditional methods of engagement Hybrid Engagement: Meeting people where they are When engaging with the community, it’s crucial to meet people where they are. Instead of hosting separate events, leverage existing community gatherings and activities. Keep the conversation simple and free from jargon, allowing for a natural flow of communication. Avoid directly mentioning planning, focusing instead on understanding community needs and aspirations. Newham Council: The power of tangibility: physical models and digital versions Combine the tangible with the digital by incorporating physical models alongside their digital counterparts. Physical models can enhance understanding and spark discussions. When collecting in-person responses, consider utilising interactive tools that allow participants to record their feedback directly, ensuring accurate and instant capture. Newham Council: Aligning in-person and digital interactions Sync in-person responses with digital data seamlessly. Establish a unified system for recording feedback, ensuring consistency across both in-person and digital events. Additionally, when engaging with diverse audiences, gather demographic information in person to better understand the community.. Cotswolds Council:
Before launching your digital engagement tool, ensure it’s user-friendly and resonates with your intended users. Allocate time in your project plan for testing and refinement, including thorough user research, focus groups, and direct engagement with your target audience. Focus groups are facilitated group discussions that are used to gain further understanding of shared experiences of those with similar characteristics. User research is a series of activities such as surveys, interviews and development of personas to inform the design and development of products, services or experiences. More information about user research is available in the Service Manual. Lewes Council Running a focus group involves a series of steps to ensure the process is effective. Many projects used the below model: These considerations were useful for PropTech Innovation Fund projects:
When launching your digital engagement tool, employ diverse communication channels and events to ensure widespread awareness among your target audience. Unlike traditional methods, digital tools offer flexibility and adaptability to address emerging needs. Incorporate a phased approach into your project plan to effectively target specific groups and maximise engagement impact. Utilise real-time analysis capabilities in the digital landscape to monitor user interactions and respond promptly to feedback, fostering continuous dialogue and gathering valuable insights from your audience. Once you’ve chosen a digital citizen engagement tool, it’s time to let your community and stakeholders know about it. Publicity is key to generating engagement, so use innovative channels to raise awareness. If you only publicise your new tool on your usual channels, you’re likely to engage the same audience. Consider how long you will have your consultation open for and how this impacts your resources and capacity as well as other initiatives and wider engagement activities. Host a launch event You can build excitement for your consultation or project by hosting a launch event, whether in person or online. A successful event sets the tone for your engagement and allows you to showcase the features and benefits of your new digital tool. Use existing and new channels Take a look at channels your team or central communications teams already use, like community newsletters, council updates, websites, and local press. Using these networks boosts your outreach, encouraging collaboration and participation in your community engagement efforts. Strategic sequencing Think about the order in which you use online and offline methods to engage people. For instance, use online platforms to promote in-person events and gather feedback, or use face-to-face interactions to collect input on digital platforms. Phased approach Be conscious of not overloading your users. Breaking down your consultation into themes and conducting it in stages allows for focused discussions and targeted feedback. Leicester City Council Establish consistency Feedback and responses collected both online and in-person should be consistent and both interactions should be collated simultaneously to ensure they can be analysed in harmony. Be creative A hybrid approach to engagement, running complementary in-person and digital engagement, means responses and feedback can be received in multiple formats. Consider how these can be combined and consolidated with your new consultation platform. Use email filters to sort responses and guide people to the platform. In-person events can be supported by voice-to-text technology and devices like tablets or computers if available. Use analytics tools Use analytics tools to track response rates and feedback in real time (across both digital channels and your consultation platform). This will help you adapt and evolve your wider communications and engagement campaign to generate the most relevant level of response over the course of your campaign. Make iterative improvements During your consultation you will receive feedback from a variety of sources, such as engagement responses, social media comments and word-of-mouth. These insights should be used to adapt and evolve your engagement tool and to decide whether to reword your questions or change the sequencing. Managing and moderating online responses When consulting online, particularly on social media platforms, use moderation strategies to keep discussions respectful and helpful. For more information on how to best use social media see the Social Media Playbook.
When reviewing and responding to a digital engagement exercise, focus on transparency, swift response times, thorough analysis, and sharing insights with others. Analysing feedback from stakeholders and the community provides valuable insights into their concerns, preferences, and needs, fostering trust and confidence. The goal is to learn from the consultation, keep people involved, and apply lessons learned in future consultations and other endeavours. Bring together the quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (words) data that you have gathered during the engagement process to create a holistic view of responses. This may be something your supplier can support. If not, you may wish to approach this thematically and/or use visuals like word clouds and graphs to understand the data better. Where possible, it is good practice to share the trends and findings of your consultation with the community and your colleagues through publishing a report on the consultation. Ensure you are adhering to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ensuring the safety of those who responded. Use new and existing channels Think about where to publish your findings. Use the stakeholder groups and communication methods you have used throughout the process to ensure the reports are reaching the right people internally and externally. Promote insights Consider who else, internally and externally, may benefit from the data generated through your consultation and share as appropriate. This may be housing groups, resident advisory committees and economic development teams. Demonstrate impact Explain the tangible impact of your consultation and how the feedback generated will inform, generate and impact the actions taken. Acknowledge the contributions of public and professional users, share findings and explain how their input influenced decisions or policies. Follow-up communication After the report or findings are shared, follow up with audiences to gather their thoughts on the proposed actions and the report itself. Use this feedback to refine future reporting practices and communication strategies. Establish longer-term channels Work with communications teams to set up methods of communication to update interested parties on the outcomes of the consultation, this may be via newsletters or campaign specific updates. Frequent stakeholder updates Provide regular reports to stakeholders, summarising the your project’s performance, user participation and key findings. These updates offer a snapshot of the engagement’s progress and impact and support continued buy-in. Use allies and stakeholders Use relationships you’ve established and grown through the process to embed responses into stakeholder forums, for example planning committee meetings and parish council forums. Havant Borough Council Hold retrospective meetings with your supplier Reflecting with your suppliers or delivery partners on what went well and what could be improved provides valuable insights, enabling you to apply lessons learned to future projects and enhance collaboration between your team and the supplier. Seek feedback from your colleagues and internal stakeholders Promote a culture of continuous improvement and help identify additional organisational benefits of your project. Evaluate your project with senior management teams Seeking feedback and sharing successes internally will help to embed emerging best practice for future consultations and digital projects.
Stage 1: get budget and buy-in
Step 1: develop a business case
What a business case is
The processes that Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) should follow and be aware of
“Plymouth City council found that a clear mission statement developed and agreed with senior officers is important to the development of consistent objectives for potential project delivery and funding spend.
Stage 2: establish ways of working
Step 1: establish your internal project team
Embracing a diverse range of perspectives, backgrounds and mindsets helps to deliver better public services and enriches problem-solving and innovation. Create an inclusive environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas and experiences to inform and improve your team’s way of working.
Make sure you connect with colleagues across various departments within your organisation. Collaborate with teams in communications, resident or citizen insights, IT, finance, procurement, legal and any other project specific teams. An open and collaborative way of working helps make sure digital tool adoption works for the whole organisation and brings wider skills into the project.
Where your team lacks specific skills or resources, think about allocating a budget for external suppliers. These suppliers can provide expertise in critical areas. Whether it’s for legal compliance, IT infrastructure, or other specialised needs, bringing in external support can bridge skill gaps and facilitate successful digital tool adoption.
Be prepared to change and iterate as you go. Your team’s size and the roles you need may change as you go through your digital project.
“The successful deployment of a planning consultation shouldn’t be left to planners. Planning Officers need the support of digital experts, graphic designers and communications specialists to bring the consultation to life and help ensure engagement with the widest possible audience.”Step 2: agree project management and delivery
Make sure team members’ roles and responsibilities are clearly defined for project delivery. You may find it helpful to have an early kick-off meeting with all relevant team members to make sure expectations and goals are clear and understood.
Clearly planned and executed activities will support the delivery of your project and help to ensure effective management, service improvements and value for money.
Meeting schedulesStep 3: agree objectives and target outcomes
It’s important to set a starting point by defining the metrics you want to measure before you kick-off any project. This involves gathering essential information about the current state before implementing any changes or interventions. This baseline acts as a reference, helping you assess how well your efforts are working and allowing you to make informed decisions based on your progress. Step 4: establish governance practices
Key considerations when building your team
Skill Evidence from the PropTech Innovation Fund
ICT "Overcoming internal ICT issues and the relationship between software and data security is crucial to using bespoke or non-familiar software and hardware. Earlier engagement with ICT departments on compatibility and workarounds are essential." Birmingham City Council
Communications "Investing in professionals to do communications and reporting on behalf of the council was key, and it was vital that the project manager was a planning expert, since software options did not always fit in with the legislation requirements for planning publicity." Watford Borough Council
Procurement "Early engagement with the local authority procurement team was a very helpful, to understand the requirements and processes for procurement waivers, thresholds and sign off, data controller/sharing within contracts and subcontracting aspects." Harlow and Gilston Garden Town
Data analysis "We had a 6-month secondment to our team and that individual brough fantastic knowledge and expertise and data analysis and reporting expertise." London Borough of Haringey
GIS mapping specialist "Wherever possible, working with a digital scientist or Geographic Information System officers at an early stage in the process allows discussion about the most appropriate ways to collect data to code and map for best presentation results." Plymouth City Council
Front-facing resident engagement staff "The involvement, support and advice from resident engagement and participation staff including library staff within this project was instrumental in providing detailed insight into the requirements of different communities, where to carry out targeted participation, and to provide language and translation skills to support engagement." Newham Council
Stage 3: Procure and onboard a supplier
Step 1: find and choose the right suppliers and tools
Step 2: design a project brief for your supplier
Step 3: design an onboarding strategy
Step 4: establish project measurement and evaluation metrics
Stage 4: design strategy and solution
Step 1: design an effective engagement strategy
“Build in design time well in advance of going live. In addition, remain flexible to change things based on user feedback, and get your data in order and up to date from the start. Moving to a situation where data is live and current is our next challenge.” Step 2: choose appropriate channels
“Normally, with a poster or leaflet we are dictating the advert to the audience, it can’t be changed without huge expense and waste, however social media allows a more iterative and speedy process by which we can tweak the adverts and the message directly in response to audience participation” Step 3: develop user-friendly solutions
Step 4: develop a visual brand identity
Step 5: develop survey content and questions
“Look to procure a system that is able to effectively ask quantitative survey style questions as this greatly increases the ability to interrogate and present data post-consultation, makes it simple and quick for people to respond and to provide effective feedback.“
“When we talked to 18-24 year olds, they actually and said ‘we don’t really want to talk to you through social media we would like to get in a room with you again’”
“The in-person events were critical in extending the reach of engagement further than online and printed communications alone. By hosting pop-up stalls on busy high streets and at festivals, and by visiting the Beckton Youth Zone, we were able to talk to people who had not heard of Newham Co-Create, as well as people who did not have digital access.”
“Participants at in-person events were happy to use iPads to fill in surveys digitally. While hard copy surveys were printed out as an option for the pop-up stalls, there were no requests for these.”
“Think upfront about the data you want to collect at the end of your project so you collect the right data as you go along”
Stage 5: build and test
Step 1: run user research or focus groups
“Focus groups are valuable and should be undertaken both early and later on…Speaking to the group near the end of the pilot period reinforced many points around feedback loops but also provided excellent material for considering more effective methods.”Step 2: how to run a focus group
PropTech Innovation Fund user research approach
Stage 6: launch and monitor
Maximise engagement through publicity
Step 1: promote the launch of your digital consultation
“By utilising a multi-stage approach, it was possible to analyse usage of the tool in that first stage and continue to tailor the tool to the audience through the following stages.” Step 2: capture feedback
Step 3: review and adapt in real-time
Stage 7: review and respond
Step 1: analyse results and prepare reports
Step 2: publish reports and share findings
Step 3: develop feedback loops
“It is vital for any engagement project that participants feel listened to and that their contribution is valued/makes an impact. It is really important for us that we develop opportunities for ongoing feedback.”Step 4: seek feedback from your project team