The implementation of a public policy requires at least minimal agreement between the actors of its basic triangle. Thus a certain level of consensus must exist between the political-administrative actors, the end beneficiaries and the target groups in relation to the modalities of production and content of the policy implementation acts. This enables the actors to establish the minimum trust necessary for all cooperation. From the point of view of the administration, it becomes very difficult to give concrete form to a public policy without the support of the social groups involved.

Consensus must not be confused with the resource political support.… The latter provides the primary legitimacy of sectoral policies through democratic decision-making mechanisms that operate outside the policy space. Consensus enables the conferring of a second kind of legitimacy referred to as “secondary” through the relationships between the actors belonging to the triangle of the policy in question. This other legitimacy depends on the perception by the actors of the quality of either the policy's implementation acts (administrative achievements – outputs) or the procedure…. In addition, trust assumes particular importance: if it happens to be lacking it can undermine the legitimacy of the state during concrete public intervention processes.

Consensus constitutes an increasingly important factor in the execution of public policies, for example, construction of new roads or power lines, storage of nuclear waste, education reform, public health, hospital closures etc. It would appear, therefore, that this resource is not only precious but also very fragile. The research carried out on participative approaches, in particular, teaches us that a “culture of consensus” requires a certain degree of continuity over time, an equal openness to all actors, standardized conflict-resolution methods, flexible political-administrative practice that enables adaptation to change, and, finally, an adequate routine for exchange between the bodies involved to avoid the structures being too dependent on the turnover of people. Recent examples of measures aimed at strengthening this resource include the establishment of conciliation groups in relation to energy policy (nuclear waste, hydropower, high voltage power lines) and the publication of recommendations by the Confederation for the negotiation of environmental conflicts (DETEC 2004).