citizens

DOMINANT VOICES IN DELIBERATION

DOMINANT VOICES IN DELIBERATION

Effective engagement is inclusive of a diverse range of perspectives. In deliberative processes, this is critical, as deliberation is underpinned by representativeness. When one or a few voices dominate the conversation, this becomes difficult to achieve. In this article we consider some ways to navigate this common issue.

SPOTLIGHT ON COUNCILS EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

SPOTLIGHT ON COUNCILS EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

MosaicLab has had the privilege of working with many Victorian councils over recent months and supporting them to design and deliver deliberative engagement processes. An interesting and exciting element of this experience has been the high level of influence some councils offered to their community around the development of their community visions.

In this article we look at three different approaches. One council that set the level of influence at ‘empower’ from the outset, and two others that accepted their community’s vision statement in full.

MAKING A DECLARATION IS THE EASY PART

MAKING A DECLARATION IS THE EASY PART

Globally, 1,807 local government bodies, such as municipal councils, have declared a climate emergency within the past 5 years. But making a declaration is the easy part. Partnering with the community to come up with responses to such a momentous and complicated challenge is not something that every council is willing to take on. But those who do will be rewarded with ideas and momentum from the community that council cannot possibly achieve on its own.

In this article we share with you a story of a local council in Victoria who has partnered with their community to respond to the climate emergency together.

CLIMATE CHANGE ASSEMBLIES AROUND THE WORLD

CLIMATE CHANGE ASSEMBLIES AROUND THE WORLD

Queenscliffe is one of the smallest local government areas in Australia, but in convening a public deliberation on climate change it has joined some major world players.

In this article, we look at what some other countries are doing to tackle climate change through citizens’ assemblies.

VIDEO: DELIBERATION JOURNEY - PARTICIPANTS' PERSPECTIVES

VIDEO: DELIBERATION JOURNEY - PARTICIPANTS' PERSPECTIVES

This one has been a long time in the making.  Finally, we can announce that our latest 'Deliberation Ready' video is here.  This edition is particularly exciting because, for the first time, we've interviewed participants from across multiple deliberative processes

Together, these 10 citizens share their unique perspectives and provide candid, first hand reflections on their journey - the challenges, the surprises, the highlights and more. 

#MONTHLYMYTH - EVERYDAY CITIZENS & COMPLEX TOPICS

#MONTHLYMYTH - EVERYDAY CITIZENS & COMPLEX TOPICS

Welcome to our February #MonthlyMyth post!  Today, we're exploring a commonly held belief that prevents many organisations from engaging in a meaningful way with citizens around complex, technical or information-rich issues. 

This one misconception can reduce an engagement process to a surface exercise without any real outcomes, create unintended and less than desirable consequences down the track and even prevent a potentially valuable engagement process from happening altogether. 

So let's get into it - what can everyday citizens REALLY handle and should we ask them to handle it?