Page 142 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

140 A Project of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) With long-form deliberations, it is essential to avoid only reaching those who would normally participate in community engagement processes. It can be hard to do, so think about behaviour and incentives. To generate a large enough pool of people from which to randomly select, you should work with government agencies that have access to a large database to extend a physical invitation to a random sample of the community: addresses are more important than names. If you cannot get access to a large database through a government agency then you may want to ask postal company or shipping service if you can get access to their physical address database. A physical invitation has a number of benefits: • Hard-copy invitations have a longer life; • They look more formal and important (people feel valued and that they’re needed); • They’re easier to accurately distribute to homes. If you cannot use a physical invitation (it is an expensive method), you can use cheaper methods that involve in-person postcards for quick name and phone number taking at local events – you just need to emphasise it is only for that random person by writing their name on it at the point of distribution. You can also make use of either digital recruitment or phone recruitment (may also be expensive).