Lyn Carson – Research Director, The newDemocracy Foundation What is the question? How could a prime minister’s office build trust in order to make the most contentious national decisions, and does the recent experience in Ireland help to answer this? Why answer this question? There is increasing world-wide distrust in politicians and elections. Democracy was borne...Continue reading
In his talk Brett Hennig presents a compelling, coherent case of fixing broken democracy by replacing elected politicans with ordinary people. Sounds crazy? You’ll be suprised to hear, it actually works.Dr Brett Hennig (taxi driver, software engineer, social justice activist, mathematics tutor, PhD in astrophysics) is a director and co-founder of the Sortition Foundation whose...Continue reading
Justice Mary Laffoy and the Citizens’ Assembly have done the State some service in terms of determining future approaches in law on abortion – and their deliberations must be listened to and acted upon. The Assembly voted to repeal Article 40.3.3 and proposed that a new constitutional provision be inserted granting the Oireachtas exclusive power...
There’s an asterisk on a lot of political analysis, a rider at the end of deliberations about the impact of this or that event: “So long as the voters haven’t stopped listening.” When Malcolm Turnbull pulled off a budget policy flip that would have made Nadia Comăneci proud, we all pondered whether he had outmanoeuvred...Continue reading
Pollinate Research, April 2017 In March 2017, Pollinate Research conducted a quantitative study that takes the ‘pulse’ of Australians on a range of issues and concerns. Pollinate is an independently owned and run research agency based in Sydney, and has conducted similar work on a regular basis since 2007. Each round of research samples 1,000 respondents nationwide, and...Continue reading
What is the planning cell method? Planning cells are a form of deliberative democracy used as a decision making tool to develop a set of solutions to a problem delegated by a government body or organisation. The method encourages its participants to come to a neutral, fact-based conclusion that takes into consideration the views of...Continue reading
Lyn Carson – Research Director, The newDemocracy Foundation David Schecter – Associate R&D Director, The newDemocracy Foundation What is the question? The note “Hearing from Experts” makes the point that mini-publics need the help of experts in order to become adequately informed. To be successful in their purpose, these experts must not only be knowledgeable, but also representative...Continue reading
Dr Oliver Escobar – Lecturer in Public Policy, The University of Edinburgh Co-director of What Works Scotland Dr Stephen Elstub – Lecturer in British Politics, Newcastle University Introduction This paper introduces a range of democratic innovations known as ‘mini-publics’ and outlines key features, how they work, and how they may improve opportunities for citizens to contribute to...Continue reading
What is the planning cell method? Planning cells are a form of deliberative democracy used as a decision making tool to develop a set of solutions to a problem delegated by a government body or organisation. The method encourages its participants to come to a neutral, fact-based conclusion that takes into consideration the views of...Continue reading
A proposal for democratic participation at constituency level Oliver Dowlen Le Centre de Recherches Politiques de Shiences Po (Political Research Centre of Sciences Po) Paris Institute of Political Studies, France (Sciences Po) MARCH 2017 ABSTRACT This is a feasibility study for a scheme for citizen participation based on randomly-selected Citizens’ Parliamentary Groups (CPGs). The essence...Continue reading