Deliberative Designs in Australia

Carson L¹*, Hart P²*

1. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
2. Hollier & Hart, Sydney, NSW, Australia

A range of participatory consultation methods have been used in Australia to discuss environmental issues: citizens’ juries, consensus conferences and so on. These methods are sometimes categorised as deliberative designs or deliberative, inclusive processes (DIPs) and are distinctive because they involve typical citizens who are unengaged, that is not engaged in lobbying or decision-making.

The author considers that three principles are essential in the design and conduct of DIPs: representativeness, deliberativeness and influence. This paper elaborates on these principles—that is, representativeness achieved through random selection, deliberativeness achieved through moderated in-depth discussion and influence achieved through contractual arrangements with participants.
This paper represents a work-in-progress of the data collected to date from an inventory of those DIPs that have been convened to date in Australia. The extent to which these DIPs have fulfilled the author’s crucial three principles is analysed. The author is also completing an international map of the field of DIPs with US and UK collaborators and this material will also be incorporated.

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