Byron has a reputation for highly engaged community groups which can, at times, make it difficult to establish community-wide perspectives and can lead to public discourse that is highly fractious. Making trusted public decisions is arguably harder in Byron than in almost any other council across Australia. Apathy is not a problem we need to...Continue reading
Across Europe, there is an absence of everyday people contributing substantively to the decisions that shape the cities they live in, both now and into the future. Democracies are struggling to include everyday people in making trusted public decisions. The City of Madrid has embarked on a path of major democratic innovation to solve this...Continue reading
There are few, if any, “right” decisions for a government; instead, the ideal decision is simply one which reflects a position of informed support from a wide cross-section of the community. Making difficult decisions with the support of the community is politically tough. It requires a government to make themselves electorally vulnerable in order to...Continue reading
newDemocracy and the United Nations Democracy Fund have recently announced a 2-year agreement centred on doing democracy differently. Making democracies more inclusive requires bold and innovative reforms to bring the young, the poor, and minorities into the political system to start to address the crisis of political representation which sees people becoming less and less engaged. newDemocracy...Continue reading
For the 2019 EBP Research Project – Click here. The November 2017 Symposium event convened by newDemocracy sought to challenge opinion leaders by asking them what practical testable improvements could be made to our democracy in order to improve public trust in how we take public decisions. It sought to move the discussion from one of complaint...Continue reading
The Australian Symposium for Trusted, Long-term Decision-making was a deliberative event that met on two occasions, in Melbourne on October 31 and in Sydney on November 22. The Symposium was jointly convened by a range of individuals and organisations including the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Foundation 1901, newDemocracy Foundation, The Benevolent Society, University of Melbourne...
Local councils are uniquely placed to engage deliberatively with their community. They make complex trade-off decisions that need to be tailored to local needs. Traditionally, this level of engagement has been too difficult for small councils, and so surveys and self-selected groups are default options. These are both too easy to ignore and provide the...Continue reading
The ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate is conducting a review of Housing Choices in the ACT. The next stage of engagement will comprise a consultation method that helps reach the core of community concerns through considered engagement. The ‘Collaboration Hub’ is a deliberative democracy process that will draw out key ideas as well as...Continue reading
The Byron Shire is well known as a domestic and international tourist destination, with over two million annual visitors. Local residents and tourists alike place significant value on the unique character of the area and its lifestyle. The conundrum before Council is how to balance protection of that character with demands for more, and higher...Continue reading
Read the Citizens’ Jury’s Final Report here. In developing its 5-year costed plan, Yarra Valley Water must pair customer and community feedback with their own in-depth knowledge of their water and sewerage networks, and the challenges these services face. Pricing cannot simply be an expert task. Additionally, Yarra Valley Water is faced with the fact...Continue reading