Page 40 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

38 A Project of the UN Democracy Fund (UNDEF) How will we solve this problem? Introducing six principles. We think there are six fundamental problems with the normal public sector approach to engagement, and these problems become your problems. When you next think “we need to consult the people on this issue”, please think about - 1 Diversity of perspectives and life experiences is more important than volume of people involved. A few thinking is better than many shouting: participation is not just a law of large numbers. Governments too often champion that they have spoken to thousands of people – but that engagement can be through a simple survey which doesn’t result in people feeling heard. Think of the jury analogy earlier: perhaps a smaller number of people actually thinking is a better option, especially if the wider community trusts 2 and identifies with that small group. We need to openly share the hard problem. You can’t just sell people a solution, and we need to overcome a reluctance to say there are things that we don’t have a clear solution for. Governments often consult on a draft suite of measures... and that draft doesn’t change much as a result of the consultation. Asking a clear question should be a central part of how we do democracy beyond elections.