Creating a consultation sets up all the information respondents will see alongside your survey — the description, supporting documents, contact details, and more. Once saved, the consultation is created in Draft status and you can continue to build out its survey before publishing.
Note - You need permission to create consultations. If you do not see the New button on the Consultations index, contact your account administrator.
Starting a New Consultation
- Go to Consultations in the main navigation.
- Click the New button in the top right of the consultations table.
- The Create Consultation page opens. Fill in the required fields and any optional information, then click Save Changes.
After saving, you are taken to the consultation's Details page where you can continue editing, build the survey, and eventually publish.
Required Fields
The following fields must be completed before you can save:
Consultation Details
- Title - the name of your consultation, shown publicly.
- URL - a short identifier used in the consultation's web address. This is generated automatically from the title but can be edited. Maximum 100 characters. The URL cannot be changed once the consultation is published.
- Short Description - a summary of the consultation, shown in listings and previews. Maximum 500 characters.
- Description - the full description of the consultation. Use the rich text editor to add formatting, links, images, and tables.
Consultation Access
- Open Date - the date from which the consultation is open to responses.
- Close Date - the date on which the consultation closes. Must be after the open date.
- Allow Anonymous Participation - whether to allow members of the public without a consultation hub account to submit responses.
Contact Details
- Name - the name of the contact person for this consultation.
- Email - the contact's email address.
Optional Fields
Contact Details
- Role - the contact person's job title or role.
- Team Name - the team or department the contact belongs to.
- Phone Number - a phone number for the contact.
Supporting Documents
You can attach documents for respondents to download. To add a document:
- Click or drag and drop a file into the Upload Document area.
- Word (.doc, .docx) and PDF files are accepted. Maximum file size is 20MB per file.
- Once uploaded, you can edit the Display Name shown to respondents.
You can upload up to 100 documents per consultation.
Links
You can add external links to related pages or resources. To add a link:
- Enter the full URL in the Add Link field. The URL must include the protocol (e.g.
https://www.example.com).
- Enter a Link name to display instead of the raw URL.
- Click Add Link.
Note - Links are validated when added. If the URL is not a valid web address, an error message will appear and the link will not be saved.
Branding
You can apply custom branding to this consultation's public page. In the Branding panel in the sidebar:
- Logo - upload a logo image. For best results, keep the image no larger than 250px × 64px.
- Favicon - upload a favicon. Shown in the browser tab on the public-facing page.
- Primary Colour - set the primary colour used on buttons and highlights.
Note - If your account uses a consultation hub with shared branding, the branding panel will appear as Custom Branding with a toggle switch. Enable the toggle to override the hub's default branding for this specific consultation.
Interests
Interests are tags that help categorise consultations and filter them on landing pages. To add an interest, type in the Add Interest field and select from the dropdown, or type a new interest name and click Add to create it. Click the × on an interest chip to remove it.
Saving
Click Save Changes to create the consultation. The consultation is saved as a Draft — it is not visible to the public until you publish it.
If any required fields are missing, the Save button remains disabled. Check that all required fields are completed and that the close date is after the open date.
Note - If you navigate away from the page with unsaved changes, your browser will prompt you to confirm before leaving.
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