If you've followed the Create Change story from the start then you'll know that I'm often found talking about deliberative democracy. (First mention here!)
I've built aspects of deliberative democracy into each of the events that I've organised.
If you've heard of deliberative democracy it's likely to be in the form of a citizen's assembly. Citizen's Assemblies are becoming a pretty popular idea. With the increased interest in the area I've avidly followed blogs, discussion and social media posts on the topic.*
Now for a confession, I've more than once found myself lost in a world of terminology and definitions!
A distinction that I'm very clear about is the difference between a Citizen's Assembly and the Peoples' Assembly that we held in Chesterfield.
The event in Chesterfield was a PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY. A clear point of difference between a people’s assembly and a citizens’ assembly is that the group is not representative of our society as a whole. It is self-selecting because those that came along chose to attend.
It was also less comprehensive than a citizens' assembly would be. We had 5 hours to dedicate to the process. A citizens' assembly would normally be run over multiple days and meetings. There is then the opportunity for delivery of information which allows for the necessary learning that the group would need to make well informed decisions.
More explanation...
Deliberative democracy puts deliberation into our democracy- this is the process through which people form and modify their opinions. (Definition: deliberation is the long and careful consideration of a subject.)
During a citizen's assembly this process is supported by the commissioned organisers. The role of the organisers is to facilitate the process with impartiality. It creates the opportunity for the group to hear from experts, interrogate the evidence and listen to each other as they form their views. Importantly, it would allow them to consider the situation as a whole, rather than just aspects of it.
The next step is to deliver the recommendations of the assembly. Methods and terms for doing this are still being trialed. One example would be that parliament is required to debate the recommendations after which it, and other individuals with relevant positions of responsibility within the government, are expected to reply to the public. This is an interesting aspect of deliberative democracy currently. The decision of how the recommendations will be dealt with ultimately leaves the final say in the hands of the people in political power. Finding a good method for responding to the recommendations is part of ongoing learning throughout the world. (There are many good examples. See this blog to read more)
There is a chance that, from the point of view of politicians, deliberative democracy could be seen as diminishing their power. However deliberative processes have the potential to inform politicians' decisions and give them greater legitimacy. It is not intended that deliberative democracy should replace representative democracy. Deliberative democracy should complement representative democracy, bringing together citizens, decision makers and good quality information. It’s a much more rounded way of getting feedback and recommendations on an issue which allows for the exchange of ideas and for opinions to form over time, so can be incredibly useful in policy-making for challenging issues.
There are actually many ways we could build deliberative processes into our democracy and the citizen's assembly is just one. Other names that you might see are citizens' juries, mini publics or citizens' panels. These all use participatory methods- the aim being to get good participation from citizens. (By 'good participation' do we mean thoughtful/ relevant/ meaningful/ empowered?). In the wave of interest in this area their are some efforts to get clarity and some standards to ensure 'good participation' is achieved. Tim Hughes has written an interesting blog which explores this.
Where does Create Change fit in this?
One of my aims with Create Change is to spread the idea of deliberative democracy. I personally feel that it is a solution to the weaknesses of our democratic system. I recognise rising feelings of discontent and a lack of belief that we are able to influence the world around us. The role of the citizen is not strong in our society and I believe we need to find ways for our voices to be heard. This must be done with respect for different views and in a constructive, inclusive and positive manner.
Aspects of deliberative democracy can offer this- but the process must be developed and delivered thoughtfully.
My method for achieving this aim was to deliver events that allowed people to experience deliberative techniques. The hope was that when people experienced it and were allowed chance to explore it they would become advocates for deliberative democracy.
I hope to embed values of good participation in the Create Change project. I'll explore this more in future blog posts. There is a lot more to learn about where the power and influence should lie and how best to create an environment where all voices are heard.
*Twitter is a great place to watch the conversations progress. I'd recommend @TimJHughes Director of Involve @involveUK @dfarrell_ucd @OliverEscobar @ClaudiaChwalisz. And from there you'll be able to find many more.
With thanks to Riley Thorold and Perry Walker who assisted in writing parts of this description as part of the Peoples' Assembly project- July 2019.
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