Every year hundreds of local governments hire consultants to help them with planning projects. But few planning officials go through the process often enough to feel confident in choosing consultants wisely, working with them effectively, and getting the best results from the relationships. Working With Planning Consultants shows not only how to hire a good consultant but how to be a good client--one who gets good value from the investment in consulting services.

A Guide for the Idealist is a must for young professionals seeking to put their idealism to work. Speaking to urban and regional planners and those in related fields, the book provides tools for the reader to make good choices, practice effectively, and find meaning in planning work. Built around concepts of idealism and realism, the book takes on the gap between the expectations and the constraints of practice. How to make an impact? How to decide when to compromise and when to fight for a core value? The book advises on career "launching" issues: doubt, decision-making, assessing types of work and work settings, and career planning. Then it explains principled adaptability as professional style. Subsequent chapters address early-practice issues: being right, avoiding wrong, navigating managers, organizations and teams, working with mentors, and understanding the career journey. Underpinning these dimensions is a call for planners to reflect on what they are doing as they are doing it. The advice provided is based on the experience of a planning professor who has also practiced planning throughout his career. The book includes personal anecdotes from the author and other planners about how they launched and managed their careers, and discussion/reflection questions for the reader to consider.

This report explains how to identify a list of prospective consultants, define the consultant's task, establish a budget, and prepare an RFP that best represents your agency and its project. It also tells how to prevent miscommunication, establish control over the project, and resolve disputes. A sample evaluation form will help you compare applicants. This must-read guide will help you and your consultant avoid common pitfalls and complete your project on time and to specifications.

This book is perfect for anyone who needs to use contractors, consultants or other professional advisers, whatever their business. Acknowledged expert Harold Lewis uses his experience on both sides of the business relationship and explains the whole process. The first book to deal with this subject so comprehensively, Using and Choosing Consultants & Advisers gives best practice advice that can immediately be put into effect; doesn't take sides on client-consultancy issues but offers a balanced view; helps clients get into the mind of consultants, showing them how consultancy works from the inside; is addressed to businesses/non-commercial groups as well as individuals. The valuable advice it contains will be useful not just for new businesses, but also for established firms seeking to strengthen and extend their contracting skills. Written in a crisp, accessible and businesslike style, the book contains numerous examples and checklists as well as case studies of good and bad practice. This book will help you avoid mistakes and pitfalls, save time, money and effort, and make the process of working with consultants really worthwhile.