A citizens’ jury are tasked to address a topic/issue through deliberation and present their recommendations or decisions regarding the topic. Jurors are citizens selected through random stratified selection, to ensure representation of the affected community. Citizens’ juries are advisory in nature, and work on a policy issue.
Name of Method
Brief description
Citizens' juries are a way to engage citizens on different, often political issues such as balancing work and family life or examining cuts to public services. Citizens' juries usually comprise of 12 to 24 people from different backgrounds that represent the given area, who come together to work on a specific issue.
Type/Level of Method
Challenges
A citizens’ jury is often an advisory role where it produces a collective recommendation or verdict on a given topic.
Problem, Purpose and Needs
Citizens' juries can be used for different policy issues that may have important ethical and social reprecussions.
Relevance to Climate Neutrality
Challenges
Thematic Areas
Impact Goals
Issue Complexity
Issue Polarisation
Enabling Condition
Essential Considerations for Commissioning Authorities
Engagement Journey
Governance Models and Approaches
Enabling Conditions
Democratic Purpose
Spectrum of participation
Communication Channels
Actors and Stakeholder Relationships
At the beginning of the process, experts brief jurors on the topic and answer any questions the jurors may have.
Jurors’ final recommendations are available to the public. In some cases, members of the public can be present in the jury sessions but they cannot participate.
Participant Numbers
Actors and Stakeholders
Participant Recruitment
Interaction between participants
Format
Social Innovation Development Stage
Scope
Time commitment
Around four to seven days of commitment, but some juries have lasted 2 days. Jurors can meet on two consecutive weekends. It's recommended that there is no long break between sessions to mitigate participation turnout and momentum.
Resources and Investments
Usually around 12 to 24 people participate in a citizens' jury.
The participants in the citizen's jury can be divided into four groups:
1. Randomly selected jurors
- they engage with witnesses
- they scrutinise the evidence
- they deliberate with each other
- they work in small groups
2. The experts/witnesses
- they explain issues
- they summarise existing evidence
- they respond to questions
3. The facilitators
- they support the citizens and lead them through the process
- they ensure fairness and moderate discussions
4. Citizens friends
- they can provide understanding of complex issues presented by experts
The commissioning body doesn't usually have a role in the process, but will have set out the framework and research question.
Typical duration
Resources and Investments
In-house
Step by Step
Decisionmakers convene a citizens’ jury
Topic of jury is decided
- A professional practitioner organisation organises and delivers the jury (not the decision makers/authority that convened the jury).
Information phase
- Background material on the topic is presented to the participants.
- The following few days are dedicated to hearing from expert witnesses and to get comfortable with each other.
Deliberation phase
- Jurors discuss in-depth the evidence they have heard and been presented with.
- They work together to develop a set of recommendations/collective decisions.
- Deliberation can take place in small groups or all together.
- Deliberation is not usually open to the public and is facilitated by trained facilitators.
Decisions/recommendations
- Final decisions are made collectively through consensus.
- The jury produces a final report of recommendations.
Public interaction
- Sometimes members of the public can sit in some parts of the process.
- Evaluation of the process filled out by the jurors.
Evaluation
Connecting Methods
Participatory budgeting https://participedia.net/case/4385
Public engagements https://participedia.net/case/4558
Citizens’ Initiative Review https://participedia.xyz/method/5097
Flexibility and Adaptability
No compromise:
- Random selection of citizens who are representative of the wider community in question.
- Provide expert witnesses to brief the jury.
Flexibility:
- Length of jury, but not recommended to have it for less than two days.
- Size of jury: some cases have had 500 jurors, but again not recommended. Logistical and deliberative challenges arise with a large number of participants.
Existing Guidelines and Best Practice
Public Participation Guide: Citizen Juries. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guide-citizen-juries#:~:text=Citizen%20juries%20involve%20creating%20a,a%20particular%20issue%20or%20project.
References and Further Resources
Involve. Citizens’ Jury. Retrieved from https://involve.org.uk/resources/methods/citizens-jury
Participedia. Citizens’ Jury. Retrieved from https://participedia.net/method/155
Public Participation Guide: Citizen Juries. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/public-participation-guide-citizen-juries#:~:text=Citizen%20juries%20involve%20creating%20a,a%20particular%20issue%20or%20project.
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