Page 63 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

When not to do a major project As mentioned, there are clear circumstances where long-form deliberations are either not suitable or not possible at all. Below are key criteria that will make or break a long deliberation. You will face a situation where an elected leader may ask for a jury having seen a successful example elsewhere. Here’s when to say no. Red flag #1: Time A considerable amount of time is required to properly operate and execute a long-term deliberative project. Participants often require more than 30 hours (much more than a single day and best when spread out with 2-3 weeks between meetings to help people slow down and think) to become sufficiently informed (this means that the people are satisfied that they have considered the right amount of breadth and depth of information sources), to discuss perspectives with one another and to form agreement on recommendations. This means that situations where decisions must be made quickly are not suitable for a Citizens’ Assembly- style of project. With less time, you can make scope or scale adjustments to provide limitations on the types of decisions you’re asking a group to make. In these situations, it is important that you are transparent with the reasoning behind any scope limitations. 61