About the network
We are an international network of organizations, associations, and individuals helping decision makers take hard decisions and build public trust.
Mission
We collaboratively develop, implement, and promote ways to improve democracy, from the local to the global level.
Vision
We envision democracies that incorporate everyday people in major public decisions which our present structures struggle to address – through processes that are representative, deliberative, free from manipulation, informed, and influential.
How we are funded
Principles
Representative
We form groups of everyday people using random selection in order to ensure a diversity of views. Selecting participants in this way also limits conflicts of influence and partisan pressures.
Deliberative
We give these groups time, wide-ranging information, and the opportunity to talk through differences. This facilitated process results in a weighing of trade-offs and sound policy suggestions.
Impartial
We express no position on any policy outside of the need for democratic innovation, and we work hard to make our processes as fair and unbiased as possible.
Influential
We negotiate authority with decision makers in advance to increase the likelihood of action. Everyday people are unimpressed by tokenism and their efforts should have an impact on decision making.
Members
Organizations
Individuals
- All
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia
- Europe
- Latin America
- North America
Argentina
Democracia en Red designs and implements innovations and digital tools to transparent, facilitate and strengthen democratic participation and to enhance cooperation between different social groups. Along this path, they created the DemocraciaOS technology (democraciaos.org): a digital platform with five standards to enrich participatory processes between government and citizens.
Australia
nDF offers advisory, design & oversight services to elected officials and governments seeking to innovate in how we reach trusted public decisions. nDF operated projects such as the 10 Year Financial Plan for the City of Melbourne ($4bn in budget, with a shortfall issue being central), to a large scale deliberation for the Premier of South Australia on a proposed nuclear waste storage facility.
Australia
Helps decision-makers resolve tough problems, no-win situations and stalemates by designing and delivering innovative initiatives involving everyday people from all walks of life. These people are brought together to become informed about the issues, talk with one another, explore differences and common ground, to make recommendations that are implementable and likely to increase public trust
Australia
The Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance is the world-leading academic research centre for the study of deliberative democracy. It specializes in assessing deliberative practices and conceptualizing ways of deepening democracy through deliberation. It is the home of the Journal of Deliberative Democracy and convenes the Deliberative Democracy Summer School.
Australia
MosaicLab works with government agencies, community groups, not-for-profits, industry and commercial organizations seeking to invest in quality facilitation & engagement processes. They specialize in high-influence and deliberative engagement processes and offer an extensive learning hub where people can undertake training in engagement, facilitation & deliberation.
Austria
The Büro für Freiwilliges Engagement und Beteiligung (Office for Citizen Engagement and Participation) aims to support a cultural transformation process towards more cooperation within society by supporting people and organizations to find solutions for current sociopolitcal issues. Their activities are split into civic engagement, citizen participation, and regional & sustainable development.
Belgium
Since its creation in 2015, Particitiz has conceptualized and implemented deliberative processes in various political institutions, at the municipal, regional, national and European levels. Their approach is based on sortition, collective intelligence and long term processes.
Belgium
Works with policy makers that are motivated to innovate democratic practices to assist them in developing solutions based on deliberation and sortition. Builds capacity by organising workshops and summer schools on deliberation and sortition. And informs public opinion about these new forms of democracy through diverse communication channels and occasional campaigns.
Belgium
FIDE is an International non-profit organisation that reunites leading democratic innovators advising governments and non-governmental actors on design-principles and best practices related to citizens’ participation, deliberative democracy and civic lottery. Its umbrella of experts has designed and advice on relevant deliberative processes such as the ‘Ostbelgien Model’.
Bolivia
Works with schools to reinvent civic education so that it is more inclusive and engaging. They do this primarily by replacing traditional student elections with voluntary lotteries, so that every student has an equal opportunity to become a student representative. And they provide student representatives with tools and training to help them develop into engaged citizens and effective leaders.
Brazil
Works to enable citizen participation for more informed and consequential decisions, oriented for common good. The team's plural background on survey research, public opinion, education, social and political sciences support planning and conducting of mini-publics adapted to diverse conditions as well as integrated with decision making and legislative processes.
Canada
Since 2007, MASS has led some of Canada’s most ambitious efforts to engage citizens in tackling tough policy choices while pioneering Civic Lotteries and Citizens’ Reference Panels on behalf of forward-thinking governments. Approximately 1 in 67 Canadian households have received invitations to serve in a deliberative process such as the ongoing Toronto Planning Review Panel.
Canada
The Centre facilitates transformative conversations to advance solutions for society’s most pressing challenges. A “think and do” tank, it has engaged hundreds-of-thousands of citizens and stakeholders through processes such as the Citizen Dialogues on Canada’s Energy Future and Canada’s World, and promotes democratic innovation in areas such as deliberation, equity and climate engagement.
Colombia
iDeemos works in the design of democratic innovations such as citizens' assemblies and crowdsourcing tools; the generation of digital platforms for companies and state entities to interact with citizens. They also provide legal advice on the fulfillment of democratic standards and processes such as popular consultation and public hearings and work to improve regulations so that the new norms comply with democratic criteria.
Denmark
Works to ensure that society’s development is shaped by informed and forward-looking cooperation between citizens, experts, stakeholders, and decision-makers. They have designed and implemented a range of different engagement and co-creation methods at the local, national, European and global level, including the Consensus Conference and World Wide Views.
Denmark
Works to strengthen, redesign and revitalize participation formats and processes in order to increase citizens’ participation, the quality and relevance of policy-making and democratic leadership. Consult in democracy as governance form and advise policy makers in deliberative methods, like Citizens Assembly, where citizens and users are invited on board to qualify complex issues and decisions.
Denmark- International
With expert organisations in all European countries EPF analyses needs, assists policymakers and civil society to design and implement representative participatory processes at local, national or International level, making use of online platforms, media and social media, deliberative dialogues and assemblies between elections to strenghten democratic participation and citizens influence.
Europe
Demsoc works to create opportunities for people to become involved in the decisions that affect their lives and for them to have the skills to do this effectively. It supports governments, parliaments and any organization that wants to involve citizens in decision making to be transparent, open and welcoming of participation. Demsoc actively support spaces, places and processes to make this happen.
Europe
The ECI Campaign's key goal is to combine methods of deliberative consultations in the follow-up process of European Citizens' Initiatives. Successful ECIs should be followed by citizens' consultations based on randomly‐selected and demographically‐balanced voters being brought together from across the EU to fairly evaluate an ECI proposal. The organization is developing a pilot project on this subject.
France & Germany
A mission driven consultancy aiming at improving the decision making process by designing and implementing new forms of dialogues between citizens, governments and experts. They work at all levels from local to global and focus on having the highest qualitative processes and the strongest impact for over 20 years.
Germany
The Bertelsmann Stiftung (Foundation) is a leading German think tank which develops solutions to contemporary societal challenges. Through its democracy program the Foundation seeks to foster citizens’ participation. It explores how the EU can be more participatory. It analyses existing participation forms, explores how new ones can be established and pilots participatory innovations.
Germany
Combines practice and research with concepts, facilitation and evaluations. Nexus believes that active citizenship and the participation of different actors change the development of society. Their topics are mobility, digitization, regional development, demographic change and sustainability.
Germany
Composed of 14 regional associations, Mehr Demokratie is the driving force for citizens' initiated referenda in Germany. It was founded in 1988 and stands up for a better electoral law and an intelligently interwoven parliamentarism, direct democracy and civic participation. It advocates that every vote counts equally and everybody has the right to participate in the democratic process.
Germany
Es geht LOS mainly focuses on electoral district assemblies in order to strengthen representative democracy. Additionally es geht LOS offers support to enhance democratization and participation in political associations, parties and alike.
Hungary
Raises awareness and knowledge of participatory democracy methodologies, especially citizens' assemblies among political and other actors, as well as the general public in Hungary through education, advocacy and campaigning. Also facilitates and promotes the organization of CAs by local municipalities and / or civil society organizations.
International
DemocracyNext is a non-profit and non-partisan research and action institute. Founded by a former OECD analyst and working to shift political and legislative power to everyday people through empowered Citizens’ Assemblies. They design and build new institutions for the next democratic paradigm of citizen participation, representation by lottery, and deliberation.
Ireland
Brings together in one site the Irish experience of using citizens’ assemblies to facilitate widespread constitutional and political reform. Provides information on the 3 Irish processes that have occurred to date: We the Citizens (2011), The Convention on the Constitution (2012-14), and the Irish Citizens' Assembly (2016-18).
Italy
With the support of its Scientific Committee, ODERAL studies and promotes the use of sortition in democracy. It is one of the founders of an Italian association called "Politici Per Caso", which brings together many organizations and committed in the realization of Citizens' Assemblies at national level with a law and all around the country.
Japan
Japan Initiative starts by thinking of society as “my matter”. It works with the government, local governments, and the legislature to involve ordinary people in a variety of endeavors to make them think about society as their own. Example projects include Program Review and Citizen Council.
Japan
A gathering of citizens, practitioners, and scholars for deliberative mini-publics. Based on the idea that the participation of randomly selected citizens can make a difference in the governmental policymaking process, the JMPRF was established to integrate achievements in theoretical studies and the practice of deliberative mini-publics and disseminate them in Japanese society.
Kenya
Works with marginalised sections of young people such as youth living with disability, youth living in informal settlements such as slums, young women and girls, refugee youth, and youth living with HIV/AIDS. Cross-cutting themes include gender equality and parity, media, research, innovation, policy and advocacy.
Korea
Discovers successful cases of conflict resolution and implements research to resolve social issues with methods of Deliberative Democracy. KCSCR holds no position on any public or private issues, and it utilizes collective problem-solving practices among stakeholders and mini-public deliberation by modified deliberative polls, public discussions, and policy dialogue methods.
Korea
Under the motto “The Orientation to Co-existence and Co-operation beyond Conflicts”,
KACS holds research presentations and academic lectures; develops directions and measures for public policies in conflict areas; and provides consultations on policy making and enforcement related to conflict prevention and resolutions.
Mauritius, Rwanda & Senegal
i4Policy is a charitable foundation that invests in public policy co-creation: supporting national and international policy-making processes, developing new tools and methodologies, and building collaborative and inclusive coalitions and movements. "The future is co-created."
Nigeria
Yiaga Africa envisons a democratic and developed Africa where citizens are engaged. The organization works with citizens and local council officials to improve local governance through public deliberation.
Netherlands
Works on the local, regional and national level. 'Whole system in the room': inhabitants, civil servants, politicians and employers are all invited to join in for dialogue. Up to 1.000 participants, preferably chosen by lot, decide what is important and work from there to propose concrete solutions. After 3 months work they decide which proposal is sent to council or parliament.
Peru
Transparency works in the observation of elections, in advocating for the improvement of democratic quality, in citizen surveillance, and promotes citizen mobilization.
Portugal
Regularly organizes citizens assemblies on current topics and actively disseminates their results among politicians, the media and the general public. The goal is to inform and shape public debate in a constructive way, making the pondered, informed voice of the public heard.
Spain
Deliberativa's co-founders Yago Bermejo and Arantxa Mendiharat have been involved in the G1000 process in Madrid, in the creation of the first deliberative permanent assembly, the Observatory of Madrid (from ParticipaLab / Madrid City Council), and in designing citizens’ juries in municipalities. Mendiharat is co-author with E. Ganuza of “La democracia es posible. Sorteo cívico y deliberación” (Consonni).
Switzerland
Takes every opportunity to inspire democracy stakeholders with innovative concepts involving deliberation and sortition. Their goal is to launch a constitutional initiative that aims at filling one chamber of the swiss parliament with ordinary citizen choosen by lot. They support related initiatives toward a future democracy where powers are shared among all citizen, without elitism nor populism.
United Kingdom
Citizens' Juries put the public into public policy-making. A cross-section of the public are recruited (e.g. 18 people), provided with independently-validated information from expert witnesses, and deliberate together to find answers to the policy questions they have been posed.
United Kingdom
Founded in 2003 to “to create a new focus for thinking and action on the links between new forms of public participation and existing democratic institutions”. They have been promoting and practising participatory and deliberative democracy ever since. Involve work toward building new democratic innovations, institutions and norms that put people at the heart of decision-making.
United Kingdom
Supported by 29,000 Fellows, The RSA shares powerful ideas, carries out cutting-edge research and builds networks, helping to create fulfilling lives and flourishing societies. In recent years, large parts of this work has focused on deliberative processes and the RSA is currently developing a campaign for deliberative democracy to promote political reform in the UK.
United Kingdom
A not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote and institute sortition in empowered assemblies. They envision a world free from partisan politicking, where a representative random sample of everyday people make decisions in an informed, deliberative and fair environment; they want to fundamentally transform the way democracy is done.
United Kingdom
Established for over 10 years, Shared Future are leading experts in the areas of Participatory Budgeting and Citizens Inquires. Their mission is to move those they work with towards greater individual and collective authority and autonomy, by supporting their ability to act wisely, confidently and in community with others with exciting and innovative projects in a wide variety of localities.
United Kingdom
The Convention would take the form of an ambitious and inclusive deliberation on democratic reform in the UK, aimed at developing our democracy to be more open, accountable, receptive, participatory and transparent. The process would involve randomly selected citizens, convened to learn, discuss and make decisions on how our democracy can be improved - which would then go before Parliament.
United Kingdom
Britain faces challenges, but how we approach these challenges needs to change. Engage Britain has been established to put people at the heart of finding answers. Great ideas come from combining our different views, knowledge and experiences, so we’ll bring people together to talk and listen. Where voices have been excluded or unheard, we’ll make sure we’re all equally involved in finding answers.
United States
A leader in convening citizen-focused technology forums throughout the US, the CSPO is an intellectual network aimed at enhancing the contribution of science & technology to society’s pursuit of equality, freedom, and quality of life. The CSPO creates knowledge and methods, cultivates discourse and fosters policies to help decision makers grapple with the immense power of emerging science & technology.
United States
Works to elevate the voice of citizens in their democracy and improve public discourse for the benefit of all voters. Our flagship program, the Citizens' Initiative Review (CIR), involves the public in evaluating ballot measures and referenda so voters have easy access to clear, useful, and trustworthy information at election time.
United States
The Center for New Democratic Processes is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civic engagement organization. Their primary tool for deliberation and education is the Citizens Jury, which was invented by their founder Ned Crosby in 1971. They partner with citizens, communities, and institutions to design and implement informed, innovative, and democratic solutions to today’s toughest challenges.
United States
Provides open-source program documentation and guidance for running and designing reforms based upon the pioneering work of the PJG’s Director, Tyrone Reitman, designing and institutionalizing the Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR) from 2006-2016. As the leading example of how to incorporate Citizens Juries into government in the US, the CIR is the foundation for the PJG’s work.
United States
of by for is focused on getting past parties and politicians and putting everyday people front and center. They are currently working to convene a national Citizens' Congress in the US, and share this historic gathering through powerful visual storytelling.
United States
Developed Deliberative Polling® as an attempt to use public opinion research in a new and constructive way. The resulting changes in opinion represent the conclusions the public would reach, if people had opportunity to become more informed and more engaged by the issues.
United States
The Center oversees a variety of programs that bring Arendt’s fearless style of thinking to a broad audience. Our annual two-day fall conference brings together authors, scholars, activists and students to discuss contemporary issues. Above all, the Center provides an intellectual space for passionate, uncensored, nonpartisan thinking that reframes and deepens the fundamental questions facing our nation and our world.
United States
The influence of moneyed interests has so distorted electoral democracy's functioning that it has become almost impossible to implement rational policies that benefit a majority of people. Public Access Democracy seeks to invest political power in deliberative citizen groups chosen by lot. It's not a plan to get money out of politics. It's a plan to get politics out of democracy.
United States
Democracy Creative is a design firm for democracy and community meeting hall. They empower everyday people to re-imagine government through citizens’ assemblies, digital participatory democracy tools, inspired media and events.
