Guidelines for ictQATAR Consultations
 
Why consult?
ictQATAR's decisions must be based on facts, a clear and comprehensive understanding of specific issues and the views of people and organizations that will be affected by our decisions. Consultation plays an important part in achieving this. It allows those who could be affected by or concerned about a particular issue to give us their views before we decide on a course of action. It also provides us with means to test our assumptions and gather more information to help us develop decisions that are balanced and support the overall development of the ICT sector in Qatar.

Consultation is also an important mechanism for increasing the transparency of our decision making processes. And, when the public has the opportunity to participate in the formulation of our decisions, these decisions are more likely to be understood, adopted and implemented.

ictQATAR will take into consideration all responses received as part of our consultation processes. However, we are under no obligation to adopt or implement any responses or proposals submitted.

ictQATAR's Consultation Process: A Summary
The guidelines presented here are intended to inform stakeholders on the process that ictQATAR will usually take when consulting the public on ICT policy issues. However, if ictQATAR decides to take a different approach than what is described here, we will explain our reasons for doing so.

ictQATAR, through its consultation processes, will endeavor to provide a means for all interested parties, whether they are big or small companies, industry and consumer groups and advocates or just individuals, to express their views regarding ictQATAR policy proposals before they are finalized. ictQATAR will also endeavor to clearly explain the rationale behind any policy proposal and different options that we are considering. We will also try to consult in a way that is open and easily understood so that everyone knows what is happening and why. To the extent possible, we will keep within defined time lines set out at the beginning of the process.

ictQATAR will approach the consultation process differently depending upon the type of issue and the types of people and organizations who need to be involved. We will typically issue a formal consultation document, which is a detailed document that explains the different courses of action we are considering. When our proposals affect people and organizations that are unlikely to know how to respond to a formal consultation document or have the means for doing so, we may also consider other forms of consultation processes as follows:

•     interactive debates with focus groups
•     on-line questionnaires and interactive discussion sites
•     sector workshops.

If you have any comments on how we can improve our consultation processes, please let us know by e-mailing us at consult@ictqatar.qa
 
How Our Formal Consultations will work
ictQATAR's formal consultations will typically be documents that ask for written responses to proposals from people and organizations. We will issue a press release announcing the consultation and publish the document on our website. We may also issue the consultation in a hard copy form and send it directly to parties who we think may be interested or affected by the outcome of our proposals.

To ensure that the voices of small companies, consumer and community groups and individuals are heard, we may also collect information and views through meetings with focus groups and/or hold public meetings to explain our proposals and encourage interactive dialogue.

Whenever possible, we will ask people to back up their responses to our consultations with evidence.

Our Process
1. We will identify all relevant stakeholders who may be affected by the proposals of the consultation document at the onset of a consultation process.
 
2. We will clearly describe our proposals in the consultation document and indentify the types of information/feedback that we seek from stakeholders.

3. We will indicate how long the consultation process will last.

4. We may hold an open meeting or press briefing to explain our proposals discussed in the consultation at the onset of a consultation process.

5. We will usually publish all the responses we receive to a consultation on our website.

However, we may keep the names of the respondents confidential. If someone asks us to keep part of or all of a response confidential, we ask that any material considered confidential is clearly identified and marked with a written explanation as to why this information should be treated confidentially. Failure to identify confidential information or to make a request to treat the information as confidential will relieve ictQATAR from liability. Confidential information can also be provided as part of a separate annex to a response document.

6. We will not usually acknowledge the receipt of responses to consultation documents.

7. We will keep a table on our website, listing all current consultations and those closed.

What will Our Consultation Documents Look Like?
ictQATAR will always try to write its consultation documents in concise and simple language so as to ensure understanding for all stakeholders.

ictQatar will aim to follow a consistent format for consultation documents. Although the contents will vary, the format will remain consistent, to the extent possible, and usually include:

•     a cover page with the name of the consultation, consultation reference number and the closing deadline for responses
•     a table of contents
•     an executive summary
•     the context or reason for the consultation
•     ictQATAR's legal mandate as it pertains to the consultation
•     a description of the problem/issue
•     ictQATAR's proposals for addressing the issue/solving the problem
•     a list of questions for people responding to the consultation to consider
•     annexes and glossary, if these are necessary
•     a contact name for further clarifications regarding the consultation document and details of where responses should be sent
•     summary of the way forward in terms of the steps ictQATAR will take after the closing of the consultation period. This summary will include our target date for issuing our final decision/ policy document.

How Long will Our Consultations Last?
ictQATAR will decide upon the length of time for a consultation period as follows:

8 Weeks
Consultations that are national policy initiatives and/or of interest to a wide range of stakeholders.
6 Weeks
Consultations that are important ICT sector specific policy proposals and of interest to a wide range of stakeholders.
4 Weeks
Consultations for which there is an urgent need to reach a decision by specified time period because of market developments, have already been the subject of a previous consultation and for proposals that will have a limited effect on the market.

These consultation periods may vary as needed. However, ictQATAR will not consult for periods less than 4 weeks.

What Happens After the End of the Consultation Deadline?
ictQATAR will post all responses on our website, except for information marked as confidential. We may also prepare a summary of the responses, which will be posted on our website along with the individual responses. The team in charge of the consultation will review all the responses along with market research and other information regarding best practices for a particular issue to develop its final policy proposals. We will endeavor to finalize our positions and issue our decision/final policy as soon as possible but usually no later than 2 months from the closing of a consultation period.