United Nations Democracy Fund: Democracy Beyond Elections

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

Evidence Based Policy Research Project (2018)

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

Australian Symposium for Trusted, Long-term Decision-making

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...

Small format deliberative process for Rural Councils

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

ACT Government – Housing Choices (2018)

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

Yarra Valley Water – Price Submission Process (2017)

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

Local Government Victoria – Democracy in Geelong (2016)

Geelong Citizens’ Jury Final Report    |    Victorian Government Response to Citizens’ Jury Final Report In April 2016 the State Government acted on the recommendation of an independent Commission of Inquiry and dismissed the Greater Geelong City Council, and committed to consult the community about its local governance model before the next council election....

City of Greater Bendigo Citizens’ Jury (2016)

The City of Greater Bendigo has a large urban area home to around 85% of the local government area’s population; in turn this is surrounded by an array of rural areas and small towns. In most circumstances this pattern generally leads to a sense that the centre “gets everything” at the expense of the outer areas. We had no...Continue reading

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