people and participation.net provides practical information for those working to involve people.

Peopleandparticipation.net helps people who work in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and who need to involve a wider group of people in their work. The site provides information, advice, case studies and opportunities to share experiences with others; we hope that this will help you make your public participation activities as effective as possible.

The site is mainly aimed at people who are directly involved in planning, running or commissioning public participation activities. For example this includes:

• Civil servants working in central and local government
• Community development workers and other public sector front line workers.
• Elected officials in central and local government
• Professionals and volunteers working with participation in the community and voluntary sectors
• Professionals working in the 'public participation field', i.e. those delivering or advising on participation activities for others as consultants
• Professionals working in the private sector around corporate social responsibility and related issues.

While the site has not been designed for citizens in general, it will still be useful for members of the public who are interested in participation and would like to learn more about how authorities and voluntary organisations engage with the public.

There are many practical functions that can help you plan and evaluate your public engagement.