OUR PRINCIPLES
what we stand for
We are committed to ensuring the wellbeing of our people (including our employees, clients, partners and participants) and protecting the integrity of each process. We also seek to be socially and environmentally responsible in every aspect of our work. This means that we:
seek to minimise our environmental impact
support diversity and inclusion and design accessible processes
honour and value the contributions of participants
enable community members to be more civically engaged after participating
support the continuation of the process for clients and participants, building in learning and debriefing opportunities
give back through research, advocacy, pro-bono work and sharing free resources.
prioritise the health and safety of our employees, clients and the community
collaborate with local and Indigenous people and respect local knowledge and experience
bring independence and integrity to your project and provide honest, genuine advice
support participants to have informed conversations and consider many different perspectives
enhance participants’ critical thinking capacity and awareness of brain biases so they can participate more meaningfully
We Are a values-based Organisation that protects and promotes people, practice and process over profit wherever possible
our STANDARDS AND PRINCIPLES
We work to standards and principles drawn from the fields of participation practice, deliberative democracy and facilitation.
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MosaicLab adheres to the IAP2 code of ethics for public participation practitioners in all aspects of our work. The role of the practitioner is to enhance the public’s participation in the decision-making process and assist decision-makers in being responsive to the public’s concerns and suggestions.
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The following principles are related to our responsibilities as facilitators. Adhering to these principles allows us to deliver the best possible experience and achieve the best possible outcome for all involved - the host organisation, the participants, the facilitation team and the broader community or stakeholders impacted.
WE DESIGN TOGETHER
We involve representatives of 'the system' in designing the participation process, rather than designing in isolation or with only one stakeholder; which means we identify at the outset who is likely to have an interest in the process or decision.WE START EARLY
We involve people in defining the problem and not just consult on a solution that has already been decided.WE CLARIFY THE PURPOSE OF PARTICIPATION
We ensure that the level of involvement and influence that stakeholders can expect is explicit.WE PROMOTE INFORMED DISCUSSION
We make sure that everyone has the data/relevant information, that this is not just the province of experts and researchers, so that we can all move beyond opinion to informed dialogue.WE FACILITATE DIALOGUE
We design meeting processes that enable people to tell their story, to speak to the heart of an issue, and together to deliberate on the pros and cons.WE RECOGNISE TRUST IS EARNED OVER TIME
We seek to build trust through open and honest dealings with all stakeholders.WE DESIGN FOR FLEXIBILITY
We evaluate the effectiveness of the process while it is underway so as to be able to respond to emerging needs.Learn more about our facilitation style.
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Deliberative democracy is distinguished from other types of democracy and community engagement by a set of principles that are designed to establish and maintain public trust and ensure that a deliberative process is ethical and fair. MosaicLab works to a set of 10 principles that reflect those, identified by the newDemocracy Foundation and the OECD.
CLEAR REMIT
A clear challenge or question that goes to the core of the issue or dilemma and is then placed before the deliberating group.INFLUENCE
The group’s report must have weight. The level of influence being offered by the sponsoring organisation should be written into a ‘public promise’ made to the deliberating group (and the public) as to how the group’s recommendations will be implemented.INFORMATION
Group members should be provided with detailed and balanced information on the deliberation’s topic from multiple diverse sources. This information should be in a range of formats (e.g. written, verbal) and should explain the dilemmas or trade-offs within the remit’s question.REPRESENTATION
Deliberating participants should be recruited through a random and stratified selection process to ensure that the group is descriptively representative of the community impacted by the topic being considered.TIME
The deliberation’s timeframe should allow for participants to become thoroughly informed on the topic, consider options, generate ideas, find common ground and come to agreement.GROUP DELIBERATION
Deliberation processes should be designed and facilitated to ensure maximum involvement from all group members. Participants should be supported to generate and consider diverse ideas before reaching an outcome that represents the whole group.BLANK-PAGE REPORT
Deliberating participants should prepare their own report from scratch, rather than responding to a draft document prepared by another party (e.g. the sponsoring organisation).TRANSPARENCY
All aspects of the deliberation process should be shared publicly.INDEPENDENT FACILITATION
A deliberation should be designed and facilitated by independent professional facilitators who have no connections to the sponsoring organisation. This avoids conflict of interest and any perception that the group may be led to a predetermined result by the sponsoring organisation.INCLUSIVITY
Deliberations should be planned and carried out without barriers to participation. Anyone should be able to participate.Further resources:
Free download - Deliberative Engagement Principles
For an in-depth understanding of the application of all 10 principles, read our book: Facilitating Deliberation - A Practical Guide
We stick to the principles of deliberation and facilitation whilst constantly experimenting with the DESIGN AND facilitation OF ENGAGEMENT processes
memberships and associations
We’re members of a range of industry-leading organisations including the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2), the International Association of Facilitators, the Australasian Facilitators Network, the international group Democracy Research and Development and others.
IAP2 QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARD
We design every process to meet and exceed best practice. MosaicLab directors Keith Greaves and Kimbra White were part of the working group to develop the IAP2 Quality Assurance Standard for community and stakeholder engagement.
The document describes the important elements of any community engagement process and offers a set of ‘standardised principles’ to ensure consistency in quality and support those carrying out the process.
It also allows any process to be audited against a defined standard for simpler evaluation and quality assurance. Learn more about our contributions to the field.
