Citizens' Assembly
A group of residents is picked by lottery so that it broadly mirrors the population, and given time, information and facilitation to work on a contested public question. Members first learn from a balanced set of experts and stakeholders, then deliberate in facilitated small groups, and finally agree recommendations, often by secret ballot. The commissioning body commits in advance to respond.
Use when a public body faces a contested, values-laden question and needs recommendations that ordinary people have weighed with full information.
Solves: Public consultation hears only from the people who always show up, and politicians cannot tell what the wider public would conclude if it had the facts.
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Step 1: The commissioning body sets a clear question and commits to respond to the outcome (prep).
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Step 2: Two-stage sortition: random invitations to thousands of households, then a stratified lottery among those who reply (several weeks).
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Step 3: Learning phase: balanced evidence from experts and stakeholders, with time for members' questions (1-2 weekends).
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Step 4: Deliberation phase: facilitated small groups weigh values and trade-offs and look for common ground (1-2 weekends).
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Step 5: Decision phase: members draft recommendations and vote, often by secret ballot (1 weekend).
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Step 6: Publish the report; the commissioning body responds publicly (after).
- Pay members and cover childcare and travel, or the lottery will not produce a representative group.
- Have an independent advisory group check that the evidence is balanced.
- Keep experts informing, not arguing for a position, during deliberation.
- Citizens' jury: a smaller panel of 12-25 people over a few days.
- Standing assemblies that meet regularly on new questions.