An introduction to Deliberative Methods

‘Bringing citizens into public policy-making: an introduction to Deliberative Methods’ workshop.

With Keynote speaker: Reema Patel

With the new government signalling clear moves to greater public involvement and local decision making, there is a need to ensure policy makers and researchers have access to the most appropriate tools for engaging successfully with the public.

Deliberative methods create opportunities to bring citizens, policy makers and experts together to have informed discussions about the most complex and sensitive issues society faces. These methods are being used around the world to involve citizens in challenging policy decisions and narrow the traditionally distant gap between government and the public. They can enable communities to shape services and give the public more say in priority setting and difficult policy decisions. Deliberative methods support public legitimacy, transparency, and quality of decisions.

This interactive half-day session is for anyone looking to start working with communities and the public using deliberative methods. The session will give attendees confidence to commission, design and manage effective deliberative processes to produce meaningful conversations and valuable insights. The session will introduce deliberative methods, outline when you should use them, provide an overview of different types of deliberative methods (including citizen assemblies and juries) and best practice principles for running these processes. Attendees will also have the opportunity to workshop potential project ideas with our experts.

Who is the event for?

The event is aimed at those new to deliberative methods and working for government, research councils, local authorities and other public bodies. We also welcome academics, think tanks, charities, and any other organisations interested in commissioning and working with deliberative methods. 

We will hear from:

• Members of Verian’s Public Engagement team
• Key note speaker: Reema Patel

Reema has worked in the field of participatory and deliberative engagement for a decade, on complex national and international initiatives, including the Global Science Partnership, which she directed. She specialises in engaging the public on the economy, as well as on science and emerging technology issues, with a focus on climate science, economics and responsible AI. She is a co-investigator of the ESRC Digital Good Network, and associate of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence.