What good consultation looks like in a file

A short test anybody can apply to their own records.

Open the consultation file and look for three things. Is there anything critical in it. Is there a documented change traceable to something somebody said. Is there evidence that participants were told what happened.

A file with none of the three describes a process that occurred and did not function. A file with all three is unusual and it is very difficult for an assessor to fault, because it demonstrates the requirement's purpose rather than its form.

The test is worth applying before an audit rather than during one, and the gaps it finds are usually fixable going forward even where the historical record cannot be improved.

It is also worth applying to the calendar. If the only consultation activity is clustered around a course review, the process is event-driven, and industries do not change on a review cycle.

It is worth applying the three-part test to a specific course rather than to the organisation as a whole, since consultation quality varies enormously between departments within one provider. The aggregate looks acceptable while individual programmes have no genuine engagement at all.