And those of us working in government recognise how often public consultation forms a final rather than initial step in public policy development, after the policy direction and much of the detail has already been developed. Since the community is generally the major stakeholder in social policy, this seems a curious state of affairs. Evolving from feminist theory, their concept of stakeholder encompasses a caring relationship, rather than one of mutual obligation. By expanding the concept of stakeholder to include a very wide range of individuals and groups in the corporate sector, members of the wider community become unambiguously the most important stakeholders for government. It is clear therefore that individuals and their families are stakeholders in family policy making.
Families potentially contribute towards social capital at a family, community and national level.
The very relationships which make them stakeholders in society help define the ways that human capital and an effective society can be secured. Government has a responsibility, which it does not always find easy to meet, at a very minimum, to seek input from consumers of government services and from the wider community and to apply the findings to service development. She concluded that, in this area, specific strategies targeting particular special needs groups do yield valuable feedback about how to provide services that are accessible and meet the needs of these diverse groups. However, the obstacle seemed to be in ensuring that health care planners use the feedback. It would seem to me that if government itself is conducting the consumer consultation, there is a greater likelihood of implementation of the findings, than if the consultation is conducted outside government, or even for government.