June 12, 2019 – ongoing Meetings in London, Manchester and online
The use of deliberative processes for public decision making is a key part of OECD’s work on open government, which examines the trends of declining trust in government, citizen demands for more openness, transparency, accountability, integrity, and stakeholder engagement. Paramount in these explorations is the OECD’s international Innovative Citizen Participation Network, which we have joined as members at the time of its foundation in 2019, upon invitation from Claudia Chwalisz in her former OECD role.
Composed of policymakers, activists, community organizers, members of government, professors and academics and, yes, designers and design curators, the Network seeks to explore the impact of deliberative processes in democratic settings all over the world. In our extremely polarized moment, the promising approach of a deliberative democratic model – materializing in representative processes such as Citizens’ Assemblies or juries for public decision-making – can give citizens a more permanent and meaningful role in shaping the policies affecting their lives. In its analysis of more than 300 case-studies from around the globe, the OECD has evaluated what a ‘successful’ process entails, developed good practice principles, and explored routes to institutionalizing citizen deliberation.
Download the report Catching the Deliberative Wave here.