Episode 56- Accessible Consultations
0-0:12 Orthotonics Accessible as Gravity plays and fades out
0:13 Hello and welcome to Accessagogy a podcast about accessibility and pedagogy. I’m your host Ann Gagné and this podcast is recorded on land covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and within land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement, which is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.
0:32 Welcome to episode fifty-six. In today’s episode I want to talk about what to think about when you say that you want to start a consultation process on a new idea, a new program, policy in order to make that consultation as accessible as possible. Too often I’m seeing in higher education spaces and in government spaces at all levels from local to federal, a start of a consultation process that they assure folk is in good faith but everything about the process suggests that they are only doing this in name only and they’re not interested in feedback or hearing from the folk most impacted by these changes.
1:12 It is offered as a reminder that one of the disability justice principles is leadership of the most impacted, and consultation in name only that does not include disabled folk or multi-marginalized folk will lead to a new initiative, policy, or procedure that will further marginalize folk.
1:29 So today I will provide 5 things to think about in this consultation process that need to be in place in order to create a more accessible space for conversations and actionable feedback.
1:42 One, provide stakeholders with at least three week’s notice of the consultation meeting. I know that there seems this sort of cachet about how busy one is in HigherEd as that like kinda of coat of valour, if you will, but thinking that the folk that you want to consult with can just fit in a meeting as important as a consultation into their schedule with under three week’s notice shows a lack of respect for the schedules and experiences that the stakeholders are bringing. So try to give at least three week’s notice, four if you can, so that folk know what is coming and can prepare both in terms of research or to reflect on the topic and the needs of the consultation.
2:20 Two, invite as broad of a stakeholder group as possible. Reflect on gaps in who you’re consulting, and notice themes in those that you have chosen to consult with already. Do they all have the same socio-demographic positionality? What about their job role or scope, is there an over representation in terms of department or area? The more that you reflect on who may not be at the table, the more likely that you are to have a more holistic discussion that is impactful to the space that you are in.
2:53 Three, provide all materials that the stakeholders will need for this consultation at least three days in advance, but preferably a week. They need to read, reflect, and form questions about what they may be seeing as a gap in the work that they do and the context that they may bringing to the discussion. Giving them no advanced materials, and expecting folk to process large amounts of information in a short amount of time, flags that this consultation process is not being taken seriously and that feedback is not really welcome. It signals performativity and a lack of preparation. Also if these materials can be supported with other resources that can make engaging with the ideas and documents easier then please provide those too. Things like a summary document, an agenda! You would be surprised on how many meetings and how many consultations where people actually forget to even provide an agenda for a meeting, which is like a foundational thing. And maybe even a video clarifying concepts that will be discussed in the material and that would be very helpful to others.
3:59 Four, have different ways for stakeholders to provide feedback, both synchronously and asynchronously. So if some folk can’t make a particular meeting, there’s still a way for them to give feedback. Have clear transparent feedback opportunities where those who share know exactly where the comments are going, who will see the comments, and the plans to make the comments and feedback actionable.
4:23 Five, and finally, close that feedback loop. Demonstrate clearly how feedback, time, and reflections have changed or impacted the document or actions that were the point of the consultation. Give before and after documentation, that highlights changes clearly. High level vague reporting back does not take into account the time and the reflection that the stakeholders have put into the consultation process. Show them that their time and insight was and is valuable. I hear this saying a lot in HigherEd in different contexts which is, garbage in, garbage out, and this is absolutely applicable to the consultation process. If it’s not intentional in every step of the way, up and to including the final report back, it will dismantle the trust in the consultation system and the folk consulting.
5:13 So that’s it, that’s episode 56 of Accessagogy, with a discussion of how to make the consultation processes that are so very common in higher education more accessible, especially to disabled folk whom you should be actively consulting with and to show respect for their time and insight.
5:30 Remember as well that I want this to be a space where you can ask questions and share concepts that you’d like me to discuss. So, if there’s anything that I mentioned here, about consultation processes, or some thing that you’re seeing in your own institution or at departmental consultation processes that you would like to see changed and talked about, please ask.
5:48 As always if you have any ideas about aspects of your pedagogy that you’d like me to address in this podcast, please feel free to send me an email at Accessagogy that’s acc e ss a gogy at gmail dot com. I’ll try to include as many of these suggestions as possible in the podcast because ultimately, this podcast is for you. So that’s it, that’s episode 56 of Accessagogy, thanks so much for following along and asking how can I make my space more accessible today? Have a good week.