Citizens' Assemblies and Mini Publics

Citizens' assemblies are forums designed to involve citizens in a democratic decision-making process. These assemblies bring together a randomly selected and demographically diverse group of individuals to discuss specific issues facing their community.

Deliberative mini publics (DMP) are a form of citizen engagement in which everyday citizens are randomly selected to deliberate on a policy issue. DMPs help inform stakeholders on creating and developing policies that better serve citizens. This model of sortition has been used to address issues ranging from climate protection in Uster, Switzerland, to urban planning in Vancouver, Canada.

Key features of citizens' assemblies and DMPs include representation by sortition, discussions and deliberations on a particular issue, involvement of experts to provide information and insights, and the co-production of recommendations or decisions at the end of the process. These assemblies have been employed globally on various issues, such as climate change, constitutional reform, and city budgets.

Check out our collection of work exploring this model of civic engagement: