Digital tools for Citizens’ Assemblies

As part of the recent work we’ve been doing around meaningful citizen participation in democratic decision making, mySociety have been investigating how digital tools can be used as part of the process of a Citizens’ Assembly.

We reviewed how Citizens’ Assemblies to date have used digital technology, and explored where lessons can be learned from other deliberative or consultative activities.

While there is no unified digital service for Citizens’ Assemblies, there are a number of different, individual tools that can be used to enhance the process — and most of these are generic and well-tested products and services. We also tried to identify where innovative tools could be put to new uses, while always bearing in mind the core importance of the in-person deliberative nature of assemblies.

We found that digital tools have potential uses in many parts of the process, which we grouped in three areas:

Preparation: bringing the public in 

  • Question forming
  • Public submissions
  • Finding experts and stakeholders to give evidence

Internal: facilitating assemblies

  • Attendance management
  • Tools for coming to decisions in the assembly (voting)
  • Sharing assembly materials to members
  • Including a wider range of experts
  • Enabling online deliberation for assembly members outside the face-to-face sessions

External: sharing products

  • Sharing the conclusions of the assembly
  • Streaming of evidence/plenary sessions
  • Sharing evidence submitted to inquiry
  • Tracking implementation of recommendations
  • Communicating participants’ experiences
  • Allowing feedback from non-participants on the outcome

Above all when considering the use of digital tools, it’s important that the final choice is appropriate to the aims of the project — and will typically be complementary rather than taking a centre-stage role. Digital tools can reduce costs and enhance the process by creating resources that add greater depth and knowledge to the process, but shouldn’t detract focus from the importance of the core deliberative activity of the assembly. 

The document can be downloaded as a PDF, but we’d also like to be able to respond to feedback and update as time goes on, so the document is also available as a Google Doc open for comments

This work was supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and by Luminate, through the Public Square programme. 

4 Comments

  1. We need to tell the politicians what wants changing and what doesn’t. eg a national rail service and any monopoly service should be in state ownership, but overall management be out to tender?We shouldn’t be running round every year for electricity and gas contracts. A fair set of prices.

  2. Assembly participation should not be limited to London & SE which means travel/overnight stay expenses need to be covered or only affluent can be members.
    Box ticking Questionnaires only way can hope to have widespread on line activity. Pilot surveys essential. Most people cannot express themselves adequately in free text. Probably needs telephone interviews to bring in non savvy internet users.

  3. Thank you very much for sharing and making this document available! – We’ll discuss it in our own preparations for citizens’ assemblies in Munich (Germany). 🙂

  4. Trevor Richardson

    This could easily be abused. If you want a fair just system that works for all then it’s critical that the people’s political groups are fairly represented . Otherwise you end up with minority extremists groups controlling large parts of our civil service. Particular example being English Nature and extremist conservationists with extremist agendas. None of this works if the ratios are not as per the National election ratios. Too often good ideas like these are lost to groups who surreptitiously take over.