Page 67 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

Red flag #4: Beware of opposition parties opposed to the method It is important that you include all political parties in the process. We strongly recommend briefings to opposition parties that brings them along with the process and explains their opportunities for contribution. Hostile opponents can impact the willingness of people to participate or increase the scepticism around commitments to implementation. Involve bi-partisan democratic reform groups or other trusted non- political organisations (this varies too much from country to country to give an example) to brief politicians from all sides, before a project is commissioned. Red flag #5: Heavy interagency dependencies Some decisions will overlap with different departments or agencies. This will require that both CEOs are onboard. If citizens’cannot get answers to their questions it will erode trust in the project. If you commit authority to recommendations you do not have cooperative approval for and ultimately cannot implement recommendations that are made by everyday people, you will undermine trust in both your own government but in deliberative processes more broadly. Red flag #6: Uncontrolled result You must be prepared for any result. You will not be able to shape the final decision of the group and so must be prepared to respond to all (not necessarily accept) possible recommendations. If the government cannot accept this then limiting the scope of the format is essential. 65