Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement
in Decision Making
by Catherine Auger and Maganga Lumbu,
Health Canada
Are you aware that Health Canada has a new
Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement in Decision
Making (PDF
format). The cornerstones of
this policy include a vision statement to engage the people of Canada in key federal decisions on
health, five principles and a public involvement continuum. The Policy Toolkit provides practical
guidelines to help staff design, implement and evaluate public involvement activities and it includes
case studies and an extensive bibliography.
The Policy Toolkit cuts through jargon to clarify departmental expectations, approaches and
terminology in order to provide for more effective and meaningful public involvement in Health
Canada's decision making.
As the Public Involvement Continuum illustrates, there are varying methods of public involvement
which facilitate public influence to a lesser or greater degree, from communications to partnering.
Public Involvement is the umbrella term which refers to the full spectrum of techniques used to
involve the public, depending on the circumstances.
Health Canada has valuable experience in these areas and is interested in building transparency,
opening up more through public involvement methods and finding new ways of bringing people together
to discuss health issues. The Policy Toolkit is a key resource to meet these objectives.
For a copy of Policy Toolkit for Public Involvement call Joyce Dale at the Corporate Consultation
Secretariat at (613) 957-2982.
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