Being a Citizens' Panel member - FAQs

 What is a Citizens’ Panel? 

The Citizens' Panel is mainly an online group (there is provision for residents to receive information non-digitally) made up of up to 2000 local residents from across Kensington and Chelsea who’ve agreed to give their views on a number of consultation topics throughout the year.   

Panel membership is broadly representative of the borough’s population (both in terms of key demographics and the area where members live) to ensure a diverse range of voices are heard by the Council on key priorities.    

Why have a Panel? 

Why have I been asked to join? 

We need residents to regularly share their views and ideas on a wide range of issues and we want to reflect the population of the borough in terms of age, ethnicity, sex, location and other demographics. We orginally asked an independent market research company (SMSR Research Ltd) to recruit members to the Citizens’ Panel on our behalf to ensure that the Panel is broadly representative of the people who live here.  From time to time, we will refresh the Panel membership to ensure it remains broadly representative, other residents have an opportunity to particpate and to encourage response rates. If you are interested in joining the Panel please email: panel@rbkc.gov.uk

What will be expected of me? 

You will be asked to give us your views by completing four to five surveys a year on some of the Council’s key priorities. There will be other opportunities to get involved including online discussions, focus groups, workshops and some one-off surveys.   

There will be prize draws for each survey you complete and donations to the Mayor's charity to recognise your time.     

What will happen as a result of my participation? 

The Council is committed to putting communities first and will take the views of the Panel into consideration when making decisions and looking to improve services. You will receive results from each survey you participate in and will also be updated on what has happened as a result of your insight though regular newsletters. 

Why have you asked for personal information? 

You were asked to provide some personal details on joining the Panel so that we can ensure that Panel membership is broadly representative of the population of the borough. This information will also be used to see if Panel members from different backgrounds have different views on the same issues they have been surveyed about. 

What about confidentiality?  

The personal information collected during recruitment will solely be used for the purpose of Panel administration and our Privacy Notice explains what we do with your information, how long we keep it and your right to withdraw your consent and leave the Panel at any time you choose.   

How long will I be expected to be a member of the Panel? 

Members are asked to join for around four years. The Panel is regularly refreshed  to give other residents the opportunity to give their views. Panel members can ask to be ‘stood down’ from the Panel at any time if they were to change their mind.  

Thank you for agreeing to be part of our Panel.