Page 65 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

When people feel like they are deliberately being constrained or limited in any way, they become cynical or distrustful of the entire process (defeating its very purpose). For example, you may want to have deliberative input into decisions around the construction of a new airport, train line or similar piece of major infrastructure. However, the decision has already been made to build the airport and you have a small time-window to complete a process. You may then limit the scope of the project to a specific part of the decision: a “how can we live with it question” which better reflects the part of the decision which is still open to being changed. A deliberative poll that suggests some potential solutions require a shorter time frame and can capture changing positions on an issue, but it will not have the same impact of citizens’ standing behind recommendations. For example, a government would like to address a budgetary issue: • Surveys can gather views on values and priorities, over a period of 1-3 months. • Wide community consultation can gather more considered and informed views, over a period of 1-2 months. • A Deliberative Poll will gather considered and informed views before and after a period of deliberation, after some pre-reading and a weekend in-person involving expert presentations speaking to 3-4 alternatives being presented for consideration. • A citizens’ jury-type deliberation will get recommendations on a question such as ‘How can we live within our means?’, but will take ~3-4 months to plan and another ~3-4 months to operate. 63