The Participation Tools

The tools and techniques you select will depend on whether your aim is to involve people in shaping local services or as partners in decisions about their own treatment and care.

Download a print version

The Participation Toolkit outlines twenty-two participation tools and how to produce a report of findings. It is not an exhaustive list of the possibilities, but identifies some well-known methods which are tried and tested as well as some more recently developed techniques.

They can be used as appropriate not only to involve members of the public as a group, but also to involve individuals in their own care.

The uses to which the tools can be put are arranged under four headings:

• giving information
• getting information
• forums for debate
• involvement

Some have more than one possible use. This is summarised on the matrix below.

Tool	Can be used for
	Giving information	Getting information	Forums for debate	Involvement
Comments Cards
Displays and Exhibitions
Electronic Questionnaires
Electronic Voting
Focus Groups
Graphic Facilitation
Mystery Shopping
Nominal Group Technique
Open Space
Patient Diaries
Planning for Real
Presentations and Talking to Groups
Process Mapping
Public Meetings
Round-Table Workshops
Solution Circles
Storytelling
Surveys and Questionnaires
Text Messaging and Social Networking
Users' Panels
World Café
Written Information

If you need support or assistance in delivering any of these techniques, please contact your Scottish Health Council local office.

Sometimes it can be helpful to use an 'ice breaker' activity to relax the atmosphere and get the discussion started.