Page 41 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

3Too much opinion, not enough judgment. A better decision comes when people consider a range of information sources and points of view, not just those they agree with. Think back to past attempts to involve the community and ask how many people supported their argument with facts or showed they had considered a range of perspectives. When a citizen process gives you their recommendations and supports it with the information they relied on, then you have a greater understanding of why they hold that view – helping you to respond and helping you to make a more enduring decision. 4 We need to balance insistent voices with invited voices. Governments can’t help but listen to the most actively interested. Offering a chance for comment or submission ensures that you hear from the most at stake, a group which is unlikely to be a representative sample of the wider community – and a skew in the reporting of what “the public” thinks about a policy. You need to have a balanced process to hear from both. 5 Participating is pointless because we think the decision has already been made. It often is, so we need to start being clear about what aspects of the decision have been made, and which are the parts where they can make a genuine impact. Normal people need an incentive to participate (because noisy people will come anyway!). Tell them what you will do with their decision (clear authority), including dates and types of response, and you’ll draw in a different audience. 6 All this requires time and feeling rushed affects public trust. If you have a decade long problem, then why not give citizens six months to explore it and see how they would address it? 39