Democracy

About

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.

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.

How we are funded

Support & funding

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The Democracy R&D network is happy to disclose all our contributors, listed here.

Arantxa Mendiharat

Spain
Individual Member

Arantxa has co-founded and lead several collectives that promote sortition and deliberation since 2012. From 2017 to 2019, she has been involved in the design and implementation of Madrid’s Observatory of the City. She has also developed the website Democracia Por Sorteo.

Bertelsmann Stiftung

Germany
Member Organization

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.

Carolyn Hendriks

Australia
Individual Member

Carolyn is a researcher and educator at the Australian National University. She has published widely on public deliberation in contemporary governance. Her latest book (with Ercan & Boswell, OUP), Mending Democracy looks at how to strengthen connections in our democratic fabric.

Center for Deliberative Democracy

USA
Member Organization

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.

Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance

Australia
Member Organization

The Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance acknowledges the Ngunnawal people, traditional custodians of the lands where Bruce campus is situated. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of Canberra and the region. We also acknowledge all other First Nations Peoples on whose lands we gather.

Citizen Juries c.i.c.

United Kingdom
Member Organization

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.

Citizens’ Convention on UK Democracy

United Kingdom
Member Organization

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.

Claudia Chwalisz

France
Individual Member

Claudia leads the OECD’s work on innovative citizen participation and co-edits the OECD publication Participo. She is the co-author of Catching the Deliberative Wave (2020) and the author of The People’s Verdict (2017) and The Populist Signal (2015).

Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes

USA
Member Organization

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.

Danish Board of Technology Foundation

Denmark
Member Organization

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.

Delibera Brasil

Brazil
Member Organization

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.

Demsoc

Europe
Member Organization

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.

Field building for deliberative democracy

Germany
Member Organization

We propose to launch a new program area in the network – deliberative democracy “field building”. We want to increase awareness, capacity, demand, and funding for public deliberation, within countries, within regions, and internationally.

Democracy R&D network – capacity building phase 2

Switzerland
Member Organization

In terms of the activities of this project, launching the work in (1) communications and advocacy, within the framework of ACDF (building Awareness, Capacity, Demand, and Funding for deliberative democracy) is the first priority, followed by (2) collaborative learning and knowledge productions, followed by (3) community building.

New Frontiers of Deliberative Democracy

Washington, DC
Member Organization

The NFP was established to pursue two primary objectives: promoting the successful adoption and adaptation of deliberative democracy approaches in the Global South and strengthening the capacity of practitioners, advocates, and public officials in these regions to advocate for, practice, and institutionalize public deliberation. To meet these objectives, the project focused on three “frontiers” of deliberative democracy: institutionalization, South-North learning, and difficult issues. These objectives remain at the core of the project’s mission.

The Open Society Foundation

Initiative for Europe
Member Organization

The Open Society Foundation Initiative for Europe (OSIFE), within the Open Society Foundation, supports organizations that promote active participation in democracy and uphold open society values—particularly in places where civil and political rights are at risk. OSIFE made a donation of US $48,935 to support the Democracy R&D’s annual meeting in 2020 in Manchester, UK.

Arantxa Mendiharat

Spain
Individual Member

Members

We are an international network of organizations, associations, and individuals helping decision makers take hard decisions and build public trust.

Organizations

Agency for Citizen Participation Baden-Wüerttemberg

The Baden-Württemberg Dialogic Citizen Participation Service Center is a service offered by the state to all authorities and administrations to support citizen participation. It has grown out of the staff unit of the State Councillor for Civil Society and Citizen Participation. It provides advice and support free of charge and unbureaucratically.

Amplify

Australia

In July 2024 we’re launching a non-for-profit organisation called Amplify, which seeks to re-engage, connect and support the Australian people in the shaping of our country’s future.
We want to provide people with access to the information they need and a space to share stories, discuss ideas, find common ground and develop shared solutions. We will amplify these solutions to help Australia’s decision-makers make the bold reforms Australia needs to reach its potential.

Analyse & Tal

Analyse & Tal specialises in quantifying complexity: we map social phenomena and tendencies, measure attitudes and behaviour, and quantify digital and social movements. Our work provides insight into complex topics such as volunteering, digital spaces, democracy and participation, the spread of hate speech, mis- and disinformation. We identify patterns and communicate our findings with precision and thoroughness.

Arantzazulab

Arantzazulab is a laboratory for innovation in governance and democracy. It aims to deepen and disseminate collaborative governance by reflecting, researching and experimenting with new models of relationships between public institutions and civil society, with a view to empowering people, promoting collaborative governance of public policies and strengthening democracy.

Arantzazulab has a clear mission: “To be the main space in our country for the development of knowledge on collaborative governance to deepen democracy, at the service of citizens, the institutional system and social actors”.

Located in the Gandiaga Topagunea centre in Arantzazu, the ultimate goal of the laboratory is to spread the culture of collaboration in society, to become a meeting and active learning point for citizens, and to offer new tools and knowledge to increase citizen involvement and participation in the public agenda.

Assemble America

United States

Seeks to upgrade American politics by bringing Citizens’ Assemblies to the center of the national discourse and turn them into a new feature of government. To that end, fosters and empowers a non-partisan, diverse, participatory movement through initiatives in networking, advocacy, and awareness.

Bertelsmann Stiftung

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.

Bureau Burgerberaad

Netherlands

Is a young non-profit organisation, that in a short time has managed to put citizens’ assemblies on the map in The Netherlands. It strives for a future-proof and inclusive democracy and stimulates citizens’ assemblies with impact. It does so through high level advocacy, public campaigns, knowledge development, quality monitoring, advising decision makers, and training deliberative professionals.

Center for Developing Democracy

Based on the ideas of Karl Popper, Francis Fukuyama, Daron Acemoglu and others, we believe the most fundamental preconditions for societal development are the separation of powers, rule of law and democratic accountability that together enable ideological pluralism in a society.

Center for Environment Education

Centre for Environment Education Ahmedabad was established as a Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India, working in the field of Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development. CEE is registered as a Society under Societies Registration Act 1860 vide registration No. GUJ/1043/Ahmedabad having its registered Office at Thaltej Tekra Ahmedabad.

As a national institution, CEE’s mandate is to promote environmental awareness nationwide. CEE develops innovative programmes and educational material and builds capacity in the field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It is committed to ensure that Environmental Education (EE) leads to action for sustainable development. It undertakes field projects that demonstrate and validate the role education can play in sustainable development.

Center for Organizational, Strategic and Democratic Priorities (COSDP)

Georgia

Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance

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.

Citizens Assemblies Network

Hungary

The purpose of the project is to continue working on awareness raising and implementation of citizens’ assemblies (CAs) in Hungary and offer practical help to local municipalities (and in particular those outside Budapest) and other political actors to organise CAs. Activities include consulting with and training local municipalities and other political actors on CAs, providing help in organising CAs and fundraising, and demonstrating broad civil society and general public support for the idea.

South Africa Citizens’ Assembly Working Group

The Citizens’ Assembly Working Group is a research initiative of the Centre for Research on Democracy (CREDO). Bringing together African and international scholars, the group aims to investigate the relevance of citizens’ assemblies for the future of South African democracy and to design and convene the country’s first pilot assembly. It is the first African-led research initiative of its kind.

Citizens’ Convention on UK Democracy

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.

Citizens Juries

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.

Civic Genius

We are a national nonpartisan organization that aims to rebuild American civic culture through everyday opportunities to learn and engage. Our focus is on deliberative public processes that create better policy and strengthen relationships between governments and the people they represent.

Founded in 2017, Civic Genius (previously known as Common Ground Solutions), has always been dedicated to highlighting where Americans agree on the issues and connecting people with policymakers to make the case that we can move forward together. In 2021, we expanded our mission to include an educational dimension that emphasizes civic confidence and citizen empowerment.

Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes

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.

Danish Board of Technology Foundation

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.

Library

By our members

Here you can find some of the best materials that explore and promote deliberation by randomly-selected citizens

Blog posts

The Challenge of Global Deliberative Democracy. Global citizens’ assemblies can democratise global governance. But how these assemblies are convened need to be democratised too

By Nakyung Lee, Susan

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Books

The Impacts of Democratic Innovations

By Vincent Jacquet, Matt Ryan, Ramon Van der Does

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Journal articles

Why Hybrid Bicameralism is Not Right for Sortition

By Terrill Bouricius

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Video

The Trouble with Elections: Everything We Thought We Knew About Democracy is Wrong

By Terrill Bouricius

Journal articles

Sortition: envisaging a new form of democracy that enables decision-making for long-term sustainability

By Terrill Bouricius

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Journal articles

Democracy through Multi-Body Sortition: Athenian Lessons for the Modern Day

By Terrill Bouricius

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Journal articles

A Better Co-op Democracy Without Elections?

By Terrill Bouricius

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Reports

Research Report on the Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland

By Stephen Elstub, Oliver EscobarStephen Elstub, Oliver Escobar, Ailsa Henderson, Tamara Thorne, Nick Bland, Evelyn Bowes

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Books

Defining and typologising democratic innovations

By Stephen Elstub, Oliver Escobar

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Get to know our work

Highlighted Projects

The network’s members work to increase civic lottery use, deliberation, and democratic reforms, locally to internationally. DRD’s areas of work are collaborative learning, community building, field building, and democracy change.

Get to know our our team

Our team

DRD’s diverse membership, comprising leading practitioners, advocates, civil servants, and academics, uniquely positions it to consolidate knowledge and promote evidence-based best practices