• Inclusivity:  Proactive, invitation-based recruitment methods and accessibility-driven design bring entirely new voices to the table.
• Representation: Lottery selection guarantees representation across a uniquely broad set of demographic diversities – “a city in one room.”
• Integrity: Independent evaluation and oversight drives research-based process design and continuous improvement.
• Collaboration: Skillfully moderated discussions ensure thorough comprehension of the issue, respectful exchange, and thoughtful decision-making. 
• Empowerment: Delegates have full authority over their process and the support to impact real policy decisions.

• Lottery selection ensures that all of us have a place in public decision making. Ten thousand letters are mailed out to randomly selected residential addresses inviting residents to participate in the Assembly. Of those who respond, an Assembly is selected that represents the unique demographic characteristics of that community.
• Additional Delegates who may not live at an address are selected via “golden tickets” provided to social service agencies.
• For more clarity, see the info packet.

• Boosts diversity in civic participation and increases access for historically marginalized groups.
• Surfaces previously untapped ideas, and encourages effective policy co-production.
• Promotes evidence-driven public discourse, and showcases a more cooperative politics.
• Fosters ownership over public decision making and enhances mutual trust in governance.

Our processes strive for equality in three primary ways: 1) community members have an equal opportunity of being invited to serve; 2) Delegates reflect the exact demographic makeup of their communities; and 3) deliberation creates an inclusive environment in which everyone’s voice has the same weight.

While equality is a minimum guarantee of these processes, it is possible to integrate equity through selection targets, interactions with stakeholder groups, and in-process support for Delegates.

Although bias is a natural human condition, we strive for a process that minimizes unproductive political bias. The process follows an evidence-driven structure that fosters problem-solving that goes beyond partisanship. Our professional moderator teams are specifically trained to balance participation, manage power imbalances, and put Delegate autonomy first, assisting them to make their own informed decisions.

• Deliberation involves carefully weighing different options, access to accurate, relevant, and diverse information, and participants finding common ground to reach shared recommendations.
  • Most processes start with an information gathering session: The Assembly interviews dozens of experts and stakeholders, and conducts its own research on the topic at hand. With external support, Delegates filter information and conduct gaps analyses to ensure information is strong, reliable, and reflects many perspectives on the issue.
  • Then, they move into the deliberation phase: Delegates define decision-making criteria, consider potential policy options, and prioritize alternatives through extensive discussions over multiple days. Delegates spend most of their time in small groups with trained professional moderators. Meticulous process designs enable collaboration between iterative small and large groups.

Stakeholders and interest groups are vital to these processes, even though they do not sit on the Assembly itself. Rather, a politically diverse selection of stakeholders sit on the Informational Advisory Committee, which provides introductory information to the Assembly, an introductory slate of stakeholders to hear from, and a menu of potential additional stakeholders and experts to hear from. They have multiple other opportunities to interact with the process – for example, to offer feedback in public listening sessions and workshops.

• Around the world, governments are employing Civic Assemblies – often called Citizens’ Juries or Citizens’ Assemblies – to put people at the center of governance. See OECD graphics. 
• Healthy Democracy has designed and convened panels in five U.S. states and three countries since 2008. We are best known for Oregon’s Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR), which is one of the most researched deliberative processes in the world and was one of the first modern lottery-selected processes institutionalized in government.

• Civic Assemblies offer an innovative way of getting new voices to engage in the public decision making process. While everyone has an equal chance of receiving an invitation to join, self-selection alone tends to privilege voices with the most access. Assemblies almost always accompany many other public engagement opportunities in which any community member can make their voice heard – for example, public forums and open surveys. Any member of the community who wants to participate in decision-making related to the policy area is encouraged to be involved! 
• If someone isn’t selected for the Assembly but still wants to participate, we will livestream, and, like all members of the public, you are welcome to visit the Assembly in person as an observer. Check our Facebook page, Twitter feed, or blog for more information as the Assembly moves forward. If you are not selected, your notification email will also include more information on ways to stay involved.

• Selection Process 
  • As explained above, the selection process  brings new and diverse voices into the public decision making process.
• Inclusivity and Accessibility
  • Since randomly selected Assemblies include folks from many walks of life, universal accessibility is emphasized. Delegates are paid a stipend and reimbursed for transportation, childcare, and eldercare. Both the in-room process and out-of-room logistics seek to accommodate Delegates’ specific needs, providing support services such as translation and assistive technology and adapting to differential learning styles. In online processes, transportation and child/eldercare reimbursements are joined by technology and hot-spot internet access, as needed.
• Stakeholder Involvement
  • As explained above, they aren’t absent from the process but they do not lead it nor are they the loudest voices in the conversation. 
• Assembly Autonomy
  • Although it only offers recommendations, the Civic Assembly l is treated more like a council, commission, or other decision-making body than a typical advisory committee. Staff serve the Assembly in supportive, rather than directive, roles. 
• Evidence Driven
  • The Assembly gathers an unusually wide range of evidence. In addition to stakeholders, the Assembly hears from staff and non-staff expert presenters, has ample time to review documents and question all presenters, and may call its own presenters. It may also receive other public engagement inputs – including survey data, listening sessions, walking tours, etc. – or hold open public workshops. Deliberative. The Assembly engages in lengthy deliberations around basic values and principles, before delving into any policy solutions. These discussions seek mutual understanding and shared goals, but they do not force consensus. As with the rest of the process, they are professionally moderated and follow a detailed process design established in advance, while remaining flexible to the Assembly’s needs.
• Built-In Feedback Loops
  • The Assembly engages in multiple in-depth feedback loops with technical staff, to review proposed policies in detail and work with staff to apply its principles.
• Outcomes
  • The Assembly’s output is therefore substantial, including both: criteria on which it believes any decision should rest, and detailed, approval-ready policy proposals (or a review of existing proposals).

We don’t want to only hear from the loudest, most active voices, we want to hear from people from all walks of life. There is also growing awareness that diverse groups make better decisions. When you give a diverse group of people access to quality, balanced information, sufficient time, and skilled facilitators, they can find common ground and make sound recommendations on even the most complex policy issues. Everyday people in our members’ projects have weighed in intelligently on the financial plans of large cities, the location of a new hospital, and how to deal with nuclear waste.