  Citizen's PanelBrief Description:A Citizens’ Panel is a large, demographically representative group of citizens regularly used to assess public preferences and opinions.
Description:A citizens' panel aims to be a representative consultative body of local residents and is typically used by statutory agencies, particularly local authorities and their partners, to identify local priorities and to consult service users and non-users on specific issues. In reality, panels are rarely demographically representative of the public and very few ensure that members represent a cross-section of political or social attitudes. Potential participants are generally recruited through random sampling of the electoral roll or postcode address file (PAF). Postal recruitment tends to be a popular recruitment approach given its wide reach and relatively low cost. However, a number are recruited by other means to ensure recruitment of socially excluded and hard to reach groups. Once citizens agree to participate in a panel, they will be invited to, participate in a rolling programme of research and consultation. This typically involves regular surveys and, where appropriate, further in-depth research such as focus groups and workshops. Not all members will be invited to take part in all panel activities. This is why it is important to be clear at the recruitment stage about what is expected of each panel member, and what their membership is likely to entail in terms of type of contact and frequency. Used For:Panels are largely used as a sounding board to identify local priorities, assess service needs and determine the appropriateness of service developments and policy changes. As panel members generally stay on a panel for 2-3 years, Citizens' Panels allow the tracking of opinion over time. Large panels can also be used to target specific groups (e.g. certain service users of people in a specific geographical area) for their views on issues.
Suitable participants:Citizens’ Panels can range in size from a few hundred to several thousand people. With more than 1,000 participants it is often possible to identify sub groups of panel members who can be surveyed or consulted about issues specific to their needs or interests. The Panel needs to be systematically renewed to ensure it is still representative of the population throughout its lifespan.
Cost:Running a Panel can cost anything from £5,000 a year to well over £30,000. Costs vary depending on the size of the Panel, the methods in which the members are consulted, the frequency of consultation and how often membership is renewed. If the Panel is shared with other partner organisations the costs can be reduced, however, when sharing the Panel with other organisations, agreement on the rolling programme of research must be achieved to avoid respondent fatigue. There are considerable costs and work involved in running and maintaining a panel, requiring significant resources in terms of staff time, skills and money. In some cases incentives are given to encourage participation in a Panel; for example a prize draw. It is not always the case that panels work out to be cheaper than regular one-off surveys. However, panels can help public services establish a dialogue with a group of residents and can allow quick access to a group of residents willing to give their time and views. Time Requirements:Staff time will be needed to keep the panel database up to date, recruit new participants, run and analyse the consultations. Feedback on the outcome of consultation needs to be produced and disseminated among the participants (often through a newsletter) and among the wider public (often through online communications). It is best practice to keep contact with panel members regularly but to vary the approach so that participants have a choice in how they can get involved. A regular survey is acceptable, as long as there are other opportunities for members to express their views such as through focus groups. Planning a sensible programme of research and consultation is important to ensure that a variety of topics and research methods are employed, and that activities are spaced out throughout the year. When To Use / What It Can Deliver:When to use: When Not To Use / What It Cannot Deliver:Citizens’ Panels are rarely representative and should not be used as the only form of consultation and research, particularly when it comes to measuring performance indicators. No one panel design can be both cheap, highly accurate, and truly build a sense of engagement. Regardless of how a panel is recruited, a key issue for all panels is the choice between involving and informing panel members and the risk of "conditioning" them, so that they become so atypical that one cannot extrapolate from them safely. But if one does not motivate and involve panel members, one risks suffering from much greater attrition over time, so that response rates fall. Strengths:• Allows you to develop a dialogue with members over time; Weaknesses:• Needs considerable staff support to establish and maintain; Origin:Market Research. Citizens' Panels have evolved from Opinion Polls
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