South West Herts Enhances Engagement Via Digital Tools

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

The planning challenge

The South West Hertfordshire authorities are preparing a joint strategic plan for a large and diverse area covering five districts. Long-term strategic planning is often difficult for residents to engage with, particularly younger people and those in rural or under-represented groups.

The councils wanted to:

• raise awareness of the joint strategic plan
• reach younger people, especially those aged 18 to 25
• present high-level planning information in a simple and engaging way
• run a wider and more inclusive consultation than would have been possible using traditional methods
• understand community priorities across five districts

Traditional consultation methods relied heavily on long documents, paper materials and in-person events. The councils wanted to test how digital tools could extend reach and make engagement easier.

What they did

The councils designed a digital consultation programme supported by planners, communications officers, digital teams and suppliers. They:

• ran a targeted social media "quick-fire" poll using Give My View, tested first with a youth forum
• created an interactive consultation document on Engagement HQ, with embedded survey questions, visuals and infographics
• produced short explainer videos and graphics with Penknife to explain planning terms and promote key messages
• promoted the consultation through newsletters, parish councils, social media and press coverage
• distributed QR-coded business cards and posters in schools, libraries, leisure centres and train stations
• targeted digital advertising at younger people to increase participation
• worked with Iceni Projects to design and analyse the poll
• established a youth forum to help shape the direction of questions and ensure content was clear and engaging

The pilot used a multi-channel approach so residents could respond quickly through the poll or explore more detailed material in the full consultation.

Image description: Screenshot showing the South West Hertfordshire 'Give My View' user journey across four mobile screens.

Short videos explained the consultation in plain language and were shared on social media.

Results and impact

The programme achieved high levels of participation and generated detailed feedback across the five districts. The councils found that:

• 3,122 people took part in the poll, casting 24,734 votes
• participants submitted over 5,000 pieces of free-text feedback, offering detailed views on priorities for the area
• digital adverts reached over 229,000 people across the partnership area
• older residents were more likely to take part than in the 2020 consultation, while engagement from younger people improved through the youth forum and targeted advertising
• sustainable infrastructure and natural and green living were the most popular long-term priorities
• simple, high-level poll questions encouraged broader participation than the longer survey

Comparison with previous engagement

The councils compared the results with their earlier 'SW Herts - Your Future' engagement in 2020. Although the 2022 poll was longer, covered more complex planning issues, and ran for half the time, it achieved stronger overall engagement:

• total visits increased from 10,647 in 2020 to 15,944 in 2022
• participants answered 24,734 questions, compared with 15,042 in 2020
• residents left 5,198 comments, more than double the 2,082 comments in 2020
• the number of voters remained broadly similar (3,291 in 2020 and 3,122 in 2022), despite the shorter campaign and a pause in marketing during the national period of mourning

These improvements suggest the digital approach helped broaden reach and generate richer feedback, even though overall voter numbers remained similar.

What they learned

The councils found that:

• digital tools can significantly extend reach, but still require targeted marketing to engage younger residents
• plain language and clear visuals are essential to maintain interest in long-term strategic planning
• combining digital tools with traditional methods helps reach groups who prefer in-person engagement
• a multidisciplinary team - including planners, communications specialists, IT and designers - is essential for running an effective consultation
• having different questions on the poll and the survey made later reporting more complex
• quick-fire polls work best at early stages of plan-making
• engagement with younger residents needs to be ongoing, with clear feedback loops to show how their input shapes decisions
• headline response numbers can mask variations across districts, which need to be monitored during the campaign

Future plans

Hertfordshire County Council, working with the district and borough councils, will use the results to support work on the new Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for Hertfordshire. Legislative changes mean the SDS will replace the South West Hertfordshire Joint Strategic Plan.

The councils will use what they learned from this work to refine how they use digital tools and improve how feedback from different channels is combined and reported. They also plan to make sure future consultations continue to use clear language and accessible content.

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