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Citizen assembly

To empower and decide

Short term

Bottom-up

Collaboration

Small group

About

Citizen assemblies are a deliberative democratic tool in which a diverse group of individuals from a specific territory comes together to learn about, discuss and develop recommendations on an issue of public relevance.

Participants are selected through a civic lottery that randomly selects individuals who reflect the community’s demographic composition. These participants are given the time, information and support they need to understand the issue and engage in constructive dialogue. Together, they develop well-reasoned proposals or solutions to the issue at hand.

The process ends with a set of recommendations agreed upon by consensus or a broad majority. The government or public body initiating the process previously commits to seriously considering and acting on the assembly's conclusions.

Benefits

Deliberative processes aim to include a wide range of voices and perspectives in decision-making, overcoming typical divisions based on gender and socioeconomic status.
They provide a space where informed citizens can consider public policy options carefully and make well-founded decisions.
With built-in feedback, transparency and accountability mechanisms, these processes ensure that citizen contributions are genuinely considered and meaningfully integrated into public decision-making.

Importance

Creates deliberative spaces with a feminist and sustainable perspective

Deliberative democracy provides space for deep reflection and future-oriented decision-making, especially concerning gender equality and ecological issues.

Redistributes power and promotes intersectional justice

Random selection and equitable facilitation help overcome biases common in traditional decision-making processes. This ensures effective inclusion of women, gender-diverse individuals and marginalised groups, leading to fairer and more representative outcomes.

Democratises urban spaces

It helps reconfigure urban environments based on real community needs, prioritising the common use of space over extractive or market-driven logic.

Steps

Conduct a random sample of the population to participate in the process.
Select participants who have expressed interest using predefined criteria to ensure representativeness.
Begin the learning phase with introductory briefings, expert presentations and Q&A sessions to address participants’ doubts.
Divide participants into small groups supported by independent facilitators. These groups deliberate on the evidence and critically analyse available policy options.
Facilitate a consensus-building process to produce a final recommendations report.
Submit the final report to the relevant government authorities for review and possible implementation.

Key Aspects

Strategically plan each phase of the process.

Citizen assemblies can last from 4 months to a full year, depending on the topic’s complexity and goals. Long-term planning and contingency strategies are essential.

Anticipate resource needs to ensure success.

Organising a citizen assembly requires significant financial, human and logistical resources. Ensuring accessibility, fair compensation, expert facilitation and educational materials can exceed initial budget estimates.

Offer fair compensation to encourage inclusive and representative participation.

Participants should be fairly compensated based on available resources to promote equitable involvement and avoid exclusion due to financial barriers.

Outcomes

Empower citizens as drivers of social change.

These mechanisms empower people to act as agents of change, reinforcing civil society’s vitality and resilience.

Creates opportunities for future idea labs.

Assemblies serve as platforms to explore innovative policy solutions to complex social challenges. They generate new perspectives, imaginative ideas and novel approaches, contributing to political innovation and social progress.

Enhances the legitimacy of public space interventions.

The assembly’s outcomes are presented to decision-makers and communicated to the broader public, fostering transparency and civic backing for urban planning decisions. As a result, interventions in public space are seen not as top-down impositions, but as the outcome of a participatory and democratic process.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This website reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.