SRA engagement strategy
25 July 2011
Introduction
What does inclusive engagement mean?
- 1.
Inclusive engagement is relevant to all aspects of the SRA's work. It is about actively encouraging and supporting the participation of all individuals and organisations interested in our regulatory approach, our guidance, our policies and our procedures.
- 2.
Inclusive engagement is deeper than simply consultation or communication, and generally requires a long-term process of engagement or programme of activity, rather than being a one-off activity.
Why is the SRA keen to engage?
- 3.
Engagement is a cornerstone of any business or organisation. Unless we are able to involve people in our work and are open to hearing their views, whether good or bad, we cannot ever truly be confident we are working in the most effective or appropriate way. Inclusive engagement is important to the work of the SRA because
- it provides an evidence base for developing our policies, practices and approaches;
- it helps our stakeholders to understand how we work and why certain decisions have to be made, in turn helping us to gain support and make decisions in everyone's interests;
- it allows us to get a better idea of criticisms and to address them up front, as well as addressing concerns and providing reassurance;
- it helps us build strong relationships with our stakeholders and enables us to become more accountable, transparent and accessible; and
- it helps us plan for the future, minimise risks and enhance opportunities.
What do we mean by "stakeholders"?
- 4.
"Stakeholders" is a generic term for any individuals or groups that either affect or are affected by what we do, or have an interest in the work of the SRA.
- 5.
Broadly speaking, the SRA can be said to have five stakeholder groups:
- those we regulate,
- consumers and the general public in England and Wales,
- students, trainees and education providers,
- government, political, media and other stakeholders, and
- the SRA and Law Society Group staff members.
- 6.
There are many sub-groups within these five areas, each of which is unique in terms of the frequency and the ways in which we need to engage inclusively with them.
- 7.
No single approach suits every one of our stakeholders or every engagement situation, so we give careful consideration to select the most appropriate engagement tool to meet the objectives of the engagement exercise.
Aims of the strategy
Who the strategy is aimed at
- 8.
The SRA has nearly 600 members of staff and many diverse stakeholder groups. At any one point in time there is significant engagement activity going on across the SRA.
- 9.
This strategy brings together the elements of our engagement work to create a central reference point for employees. The strategy aims to support SRA staff members to learn from best practice and experience, and to have a common understanding of work taking place on engagement across the organisation. The strategy also aims to help create consistency of approach and minimise duplication of efforts in our engagement activity, with the end result being we provide a consistently high standard of inclusive engagement opportunities for our stakeholders.
Our principles of engagement
Principle 1: Have clarity of purpose
We will be clear from the start about the purpose of any engagement activity we carry out—there should be an identified need, such as filling a knowledge gap, when a stakeholder requires support or guidance from us, or when a particular initiative requires it.
Principle 2: Be inclusive
We will aim to make sure all those interested or impacted by our work can participate and get involved in what we do. We will be inclusive by adopting approaches to enable us to reach a diverse range of stakeholders. Our engagement will be accessible by making reasonable adjustments where appropriate, using plain English, varying engagement timings particularly when planning events, and using the widest range of engagement options available to us, including targeting specific engagement to get feedback from key equality groups.
Principle 3: Open and honest
We will be up-front about the reasons provided to stakeholders for wanting to engage, and will be realistic about what can realistically be achieved in terms of benefits for our stakeholders and for the SRA.
Principle 4: Consider how to make best use of resources
Engagement can be extremely resource-intensive, both financially but also in terms of stakeholder time and willingness to engage with us—we will try to identify time and financial constraints from the outset of any new engagement exercise and will make sure that approaches we use to engage are effective and efficient. We will try and join up with others, where appropriate, to maximise use of our resources, and to minimise impact on our stakeholders.
Principle 5: Tailor and target
We will explore different engagement options to get our communication right—we will ensure clear information on complex issues is provided, that it is easy to understand, and that stakeholders have enough time and support to make considered and informed decisions.
Principle 6: Accessibility
We will carry out engagement activity in ways that do not create unnecessary barriers for stakeholders—including making sure venues used for engagement are easy to access for all, that activities are held at appropriate times and places for the particular audience, and that any information we provide is in the most suitable format.
How we engage
The approaches we use