Engagement & Consultation Platform

Whether for profit, or the public interest, keeping constituents engaged is a surefire way to build trust and collaboration.

RSI's risk-sensitive approach to engagement and consultation platforms

Introduction

What is an Engagement & Consultation Platform?

An online engagement and consultation platform is an effective means of:

  • delivering validated information
  • encouraging dialogue to better understand that information
  • providing a feedback channel for constituents to ask questions or provide feedback
  • fostering a sense of community among constituents
  • and providing value added tools services that can be mutually beneficial.

An example of additional engagement and consultation platform functionality might be:

  • a fundraising tool
  • a directory of useful links or addresses
  • pertinent photos or files for download
  • constituent matching to facilitate intra-community assistance
  • store-front for the sale of relevant publications or services
  • calendars and rsvp functionality to provide a means to invite and register attendees at community functions
  • FAQ
  • support desk for both technical or subject-matter support

In short, a good engagement and consultation platform has to be as flexible as you need it to be. It has to be sufficiently customizable to satisfy the needs of a federal agency with strict privacy concerns, meet the requirements of a company attempting to improve its environmental outreach, all the way to a grassroots community platform designed to engage youth, and everything in between.

What are the benefits of an Engagement & Consultation Platform?

The best engagement and consultation platforms are the ones that are truly and sincerely focussed on their users' needs, not on the organizations that have created them. Users must be confident that the platform is there to help them, not the site owner. It is there to engage, to inform, to exchange; it is not there to solicit and any indication that it is spells the end of the platform.

This said, so long as the focus is on the user, the site owner does benefit. They benefit from the rich exchanges, from the potential loyalty, and from the knowledge that they are providing a useful service. Users also appreciate a site owner that is giving more than taking. It reflects well on the institution, company or brand.

The Service

Engagement & Consultation Platforms: what to expect

An engagement and consultation platform is usually a larger rather than a smaller project. This is not to say that one cannot create a specialized tool, quite the contrary, but in most cases, clients seek to have a comprehensive tool. On the lighter end, one can imagine a simple support desk tool, or perhaps a simple discussion forum. On the more complex end, one finds a multi-faceted tool with potentially hundred of thousands, or even millions, of users. The key is to develop a platform that is both appropriate and manageable. It must be appropriate in that it must deliver on the promise. But it must be manageable in that sustaining a platform does require effort and typically, platforms fail because its managers underestimated the effort required to keep it informative, current, safe, and otherwise a reason to keep coming back.

As for the range of actual services that RSI provides, it is able to conceive, construct, secure, and maintain the platform. It is also able to provide content creation or even content maintenance. In the first case, RSI simply populates a base of content, sufficient to warrant interest by the platform's constituency. At the other end, RSI is able to provide ongoing content and interaction keeping the platform alive and well for as long as it is needed.

RSI's Engagement & Consultation Platform offer in greater detail

The listing at the top of this page, provided some insight into the possible components of an engagement and consultation platform ranging from a forum to an fundraising tool or a support desk. The point is that the engagement and consultation platform can be as detailed as desired. The trick is to find that happy place. The best way is to start with the core offer. What is the main thing you are hoping to achieve. If information is more important than exchange, then do not start with the forum, begin with the blog or newsletter. If the goal is to offer constituents a chance to interact with you, then the Q&A, FAQ and support desk should come first.

Then, once there is regular engagement and member growth, the platform can diversify its offering. Indeed, users appreciate novelty and it also spreads out the learning curve.

Design-wise, an engagement and consultation platform can be a stand-alone, even white label offering, or it can be an integral, transparent part of an existing website using the same design and url as the parent site. It all depends, as RSI likes to insist: on the goals. If the platform's goal is to inform without any influence or bias, perhaps a more neutral approach is warranted. Though one must always be aware of the need for transparency. White label does not necessarily mean hidden. If the source of the information is a given company or organization, that must appear on the website.

What are the benefits of an Engagement & Consultation Platform?

There are many benefits to launching and maintaining an engagement and consultation platform. Indeed, it is an effective way to connect with a large number of users. In some cases, there is no other way. What about social networks you might ask. Though RSI does make selective use of social networks, it is important to delineate the differences between a social network and an engagement and consultation platform. Commercial social networks own the data. They also control who sees what when. They are also known for sharing data with commercial third parties. Instead, an engagement and consultation platform is a controlled space with strict security, privacy and moderation control.

What deliverables can you expect with an Engagement & Consultation Platform?

Coldly, the final result, or deliverable, is a web site, with a url, a security certificate, a database and a front end interface. It is hosted on either your server, an RSI server, or a third-party hosting service of your choosing. But is that all it is really?

From RSI's standpoint, an engagement and consultation platform is an opportunity. It is a privileged conversation tool with a large group of trusting and interested users. For this reason, RSI insists that clients see an engagement and consultation platform as far more than a technological tool. It is a large agora where people come together to grow together. And in the context of risk, one can never lose sight of the fact that this platform can save lives. The obvious example is that of a suicide-prevention platform. Without a doubt, the goal of such a platform is to save lives. What about an engagement and consultation platform that helps veterans find work? Is that a life saving platform? All those who work in veteran affairs know full well that it is.

The point is that RSI hopes to impart on its clients, its own enthusiasm and respect for a the good an engagement tool engenders.

What is RSI's expertise in Engagement & Consultation Platforms?

RSI's President launched one of the very earliest engagement and consultation platforms in the very early days of the World Wide Web in the early 1990's. This United Nations agency (at the time it was not yet in the UN system) agreed to fund his vision of a platform that would connect potential migrants with those familiar with legal migration policies. The goal was to dissuade them from embarking on a dangerous illegal migration journey by providing them with credible information on the legal options. The platform included both a web component and a printed information periodical. Of note, RSI continues to believe in the added value of mixing media. Web plus print, or web plus radio, or web plus television... all are strong combinations.

Even though the internet of the early nineties was still sparsely inhabited, the platform was a success. Exchanges flourished and bonds were created. Throughout their careers, RSI staff have launched and managed several efforts ranging from a platform for women traveling solo, to an amateur radio community, and several public health initiatives. The World AIDS Campaign's online presence was, early on, going to be a place for credible information and dialogue. Not a place to preach. Not a place to aggressively warn. It was about a joint journey.

Engaging a constituency, consulting them for their views, and otherwise connecting with them is how we build communities of trust.

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RSI Clients and Stakeholders

300+

Gov & IGO

Federal, regional and local government authorities and international/multilateral organizations including the United Nations and UN Agencies: 

  1. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC)
  2. Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES)
  3. Agriculture - Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
  4. Alberta Health and Wellness Services
  5. Arctic Aquatic Research Division
  6. Australian Food Safety Centre (FSC)
  7. Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste
  8. BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)
  9. BC Ministry of Environment (BCMoE)
  10. BC Ministry of Transport (BCMoT)
  11. Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
  12. Canadian Heritage (PCH)
  13. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) of FDA
  14. Central Research Institute of Japan
  15. China Institute for Radiation Protection
  16. Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention
  17. City of Barrie
  18. City of Calgary
  19. City of Kingston
  20. City of Mississauga
  21. City of Ottawa
  22. City of Toronto
  23. Community of Federal Regulators (CFR)
  24. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
  25. Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVCA)
  26. Crown Indigenous and Northern Affairs (CIRNA)
  27. Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC)
  28. Dene First Nation
  29. Department of Finance Canada (FIN)
  30. Department of Health, UK
  31. Department of Justice Canada (JUS)
  32. Department of National Defence (DND)
  33. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)
  34. Environmental Commission of Ontario (ECO)
  35. European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
  36. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
  37. European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA)
  38. European Union (EU)
  39. Fisheries & Oceans Canada (DFO)
  40. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
  41. Food Protection and Defense Institute (FPDI)
  42. GIZ
  43. Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  44. Global Observatory for eHealth (WHO)
  45. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (WHO)
  46. Government of New Brunswick (GNB)
  47. Government of Northwest Territories (GNWT)
  48. Greater Vancouver Regional District
  49. Green Cross International (GCI)
  50. Health Canada (HC)
  51. Homeland Security Centers of Excellence (HS-Centers) of U.S. Dept of Homeland Security.
  52. Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
  53. Industry Canada (IC)
  54. International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO)
  55. International AIDS Society (IAS)
  56. International Air Transport Association (IATA)
  57. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
  58. International Labour Organization (ILO)
  59. International Organization for Migration (IOM)
  60. International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
  61. International Social Security Association (ISSA)
  62. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
  63. Japan Atomic Energy Agency
  64. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
  65. Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority
  66. Measurement Canada (MC)
  67. MetroLinx
  68. National Centre for Food Protection & Defense (NCFPD) Homeland Security Center of Excellence)
  69. National Research Council Canada (NRC)
  70. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
  71. New Brunswick Government (GNB), Dept. of Environment and Local Government
  72. Northern Ontario Public Services
  73. Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)
  74. Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPCC)
  75. Ontario Association for Impact Assessment (OAIA)
  76. Ontario Centre for Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resources (OCCIAR)
  77. Ontario Ministry of Infrastructure
  78. Ontario Ministry of the Environment & Climate Change (OMECC)
  79. Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
  80. Public Health England (PHE)
  81. Public Safety Canada (PSC)
  82. Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)
  83. Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC)
  84. Regional Municipality of Durham
  85. Regional Municipality of Waterloo
  86. RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
  87. Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership (WHO)
  88. Spectrum Management and Telecommunications - Industry Canada
  89. Statistics Canada (StatCan)
  90. Stop TB Partnership
  91. Technical Standards & Safety Authority (TSSA)
  92. Tobacco Free Initiative TFI (WHO)
  93. Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
  94. Toronto Public Health (TPH)
  95. Transport Canada (TC)
  96. Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada (TBS)
  97. UN Watch
  98. UN-Habitat
  99. UNITAID
  100. United Nations (UN)
  101. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
  102. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  103. United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR)
  104. United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
  105. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)
  106. United Nations Volunteers
  107. Universal Postal Union (UPU)
  108. UNplus
  109. US Army Natick Soldier RD&E Center - Combat Feeding Directorate (DFAS)
  110. US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  111. US Dept of Homeland Security (DHS)
  112. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  113. US Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
  114. USAID Office of Transitional Initiatives
  115. USDA Agricultural Research Service - Eastern Regional Research Center (ARS-ERRC)
  116. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
  117. Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB)
  118. World AIDS Day (WAD)
  119. World Alliance for Patient Safety (WHO)
  120. World Health Day (WHO)
  121. World Health Organization (WHO)
  122. World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA)
  123. World Trade Organization (WTO)
  124. World Urban Campaign (WUC)
  125. World Water Day (WHO)

NGO & PPP

Non-governmental organizations, other civil society organizations, as well as private-public partnerships that RSI has either served or partnered with:
 

  1. 4TRANSIT Joint Venture
  2. Air and Waste Management Association (AWSA)
  3. Aluminium REACH Consortium (ARC)
  4. America Frozen Food Institute (AFFI)
  5. America Water Works Association (AWWA)
  6. Americal Chemistry Council (ACC)
  7. American Blood Centers
  8. American Cancer Society
  9. American Childhood Cancer Organization
  10. BioVision - World Life Sciences Forum
  11. Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI)
  12. Bureau de Normalization du Quebec
  13. Canadian Blood Services (CBS)
  14. Canadian Cattlemen's Association
  15. Canadian Climate Forum (CCF)
  16. Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI)
  17. Canadian Gas Association (CGA)
  18. Canadian Partnership Against Cancer (CPAC)
  19. Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
  20. Cancer Care Ontario (CCO)
  21. Center for Product Safety (CPS)
  22. Centre for Public Management
  23. Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics
  24. Children's National Medical Center
  25. Clarity Healthcare
  26. Clean Air Partnership
  27. Climate Risk Institute (CRI)
  28. Clinton Foundation
  29. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
  30. Conceptis Inc (WebMD)
  31. Council of Canadian Academies
  32. Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA)
  33. Ecumenical Loan Funds For Human Development (ECLOF)
  34. Europa Donna, The European Breast Cancer Coalition
  35. European Aluminum Association (EAA)
  36. Fonterra Co-Operative Group
  37. Franciscans International (FI)
  38. Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
  39. Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR)
  40. Global Movement for Children (GMC)
  41. GRACE GmbH - SASforREACH Consortium
  42. ICF International Inc. (ICF)
  43. Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté
  44. Institute for Safe Medical Practices (ISMP)
  45. Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences
  46. Institute of Food Research (IFR)
  47. International Aluminium Institute (IAI)
  48. International Bridges to Justice (IBJ)
  49. International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC)
  50. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
  51. International Copper Association (ICA)
  52. International Council on Mining and Metals Limited (ICMM)
  53. International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM)
  54. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
  55. International Federation of University Women (IFUW)
  56. International Hospital Federation
  57. International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
  58. International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI)
  59. International Manganese Institute (IMnI)
  60. International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF)
  61. International Prevention Research Institute (IPRI)
  62. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
  63. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
  64. ISGlobal Barcelona Institute for Global Health
  65. Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) Tof FAO/WHO
  66. Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) UMD-FDA
  67. Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences
  68. Livestock Innovation Research Corporation (LRIC)
  69. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
  70. Medicines Patent Pool (MPP)
  71. Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation, and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO)
  72. Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)
  73. National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
  74. National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  75. National Pork Board
  76. Netherlands Cancer Institute
  77. Northern Climate Exchange (NCE)
  78. Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO)
  79. Oak foundation
  80. Ontario Power Generation (OPG)
  81. Ontario Regional Climate Change Consortium (ORCCC)
  82. Organization of African First Ladies Against AIDS (OAFLA)
  83. PregMedic
  84. Public Services International (PSI)
  85. Radiation Effects Research Foundation
  86. Ramsar convention on wetlands
  87. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
  88. RTI International
  89. Science and Technology Center in Ukraine
  90. Small Arms Survey
  91. Society for Risk Analysis (SRA)
  92. South Carolina College of Pharmacy
  93. Standards Council of Canada (SCC)
  94. Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI
  95. The Aluminum Association (AA)
  96. Toronto Community Housing (TCH)
  97. Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment
  98. Trade Union Advisory Committee
  99. Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)
  100. Union Network International (UNI)
  101. WaterSMART Solutions Ltd
  102. World AIDS Campaign (WAC)
  103. World Council of Churches (WCC)
  104. World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM)
  105. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF International)
  106. World YWCA Young Women's Christian Association

Business

Companies both large and small: 

  1. A-Maps Environmental Inc.
  2. AECOM Canada Limited
  3. Ajilon Consulting
  4. Arcelor
  5. Associated Engineering Alberta Ltd. (ASENG)
  6. BGC Engineering Inc.
  7. BMW Gmbh
  8. Bull Hausser and Tupper LLC
  9. Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz
  10. Canadian National (CN)
  11. Coca Cola Company
  12. Copp Clark Ltd.
  13. Crawford and Company Canada Inc
  14. CRDF Global
  15. Dillon Consulting Limited
  16. Dow Chemical Company
  17. Emdata Co. Ltd.
  18. Emmons & Olivier Resources Canada Inc. (EOR)
  19. Engineers Canada
  20. ESSA Technologies Ltd.
  21. Federated Press
  22. FNC Technology Co., Ltd.
  23. Geneva International Airport
  24. Hatch Limited
  25. Helmholtz Zentrum München
  26. Hydro Ottawa
  27. ICF International
  28. Intersol Group Ltd.
  29. Intertek Health Sciences Inc.
  30. IRIS Legal
  31. Japan Nus Company Ltd.
  32. King & Spalding
  33. Lakind Associates LLC
  34. Lansdowne Technologies
  35. Lapointe Engineering Ltd
  36. Lockheed Martin
  37. Lumina Decision Systems
  38. Manulife Financial Real Estate
  39. MARS Foods (China) Co. Ltd.
  40. Matrix Solutions Inc
  41. McCague Borlack LLP
  42. McCarthy Tetrault LLP
  43. Meat and Livestock Australia
  44. MITACS
  45. Mondelēz International
  46. Morrison Hershfield
  47. Moto Internationale
  48. Motosport Plus
  49. Nodelcorp Consulting Inc
  50. NORR
  51. Novel Futures Corporation
  52. NTNU Regnskapsseksjonen
  53. Phillips & Paolicelli LLP (P2Law)
  54. Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC)
  55. Querencia Partners Ltd.
  56. R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd
  57. Restaino Law Firm
  58. Rio Tinto
  59. RWDI Air Inc
  60. Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
  61. Social and Scientific Systems, Inc
  62. Stantec Consulting Ltd.
  63. Summit Toxicology LLP
  64. TetraTech Inc.
  65. Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited
  66. Torys LLP
  67. TriEdge & Associates
  68. Unilever
  69. Versar, Inc.
  70. WSP
  71. WSPA-Maps Environmental Inc.

Academia

Universities and research institutes that RSI has served or partnered with:
 

  1. Carleton University
  2. Dankook University
  3. Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal  
  4. George Washington University 
  5. Harvard University  
  6. International Prevention Research Institute (IPRI)
  7. International University of Health and Welfare, Tochigi, Japan
  8. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
  9. Keio University 
  10. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  11. McGill University
  12. McLaughlin Centre for Population Health
  13. Medizinische Hochschule Brandenburg Theodor Fontane
  14. Nagasaki University
  15. Oak Ridge Associated Universities 
  16. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute 
  17. Rutgers University
  18. Trent University 
  19. Universitätsmedizin Greifswald
  20. Université de Montréal 
  21. University of Alberta
  22. University of Bergen
  23. University of Calgary
  24. University of California, Berkeley
  25. University of California, San Francisco
  26. University of Guelph
  27. University of Korea 
  28. University of Manchester
  29. University of Maryland
  30. University of Melbourne
  31. University of Minnesota
  32. University of Ottawa 
  33. University of Pennsylvania
  34. University of Prince Edward Island
  35. University of Southern California
  36. University of Tasmania 
  37. University of Toronto
  38. University of Washington
  39. University of Windsor
  40. Vanderbilt University
  41. Yukon College

The list of organizations, companies, and governments above in no way denotes or implies support or endorsement by these entities. The list is intended as an indication of the breadth of work led and undertaken by Risk Sciences International staff.

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Monique Macdonald

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Monique, RSI's Office Administrator, joined RSI in 2017.

RSI's Monique MacDonald

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