DIY Democracy: Citizens' Assemblies from the ground up

​Citizens' Assemblies are a powerful way of bringing diverse public voices together to carefully deliberate over complex social issues and come to a consensus about what needs to happen. They can overcome polarisation and make decisions that are based on the common good rather than individual self interest. However, they are complicated, expensive, and difficult to set up, creating barriers to access that limit who can commission them, the topics they deal with, and the implementation of what they recommend.

​This workshop will explore ways of reducing those barriers while maintaining the legitimacy and quality of dialogue that makes citizens' assemblies such a powerful tool for collective decision making.

​Rebekah McCabe from Involve will break down the features of a citizens' assembly and we'll play with ways of reconfiguring them so that democratic innovations are accessible to all.

​This workshop will have a practical focus and will be of interest to anyone curious about the mechanics of citizens assemblies, or interested in public engagement and how they can bring more deliberative decision making to their work.