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modified Tuesday, 08 November 2011A "brainstorming" session is a meeting where all participants share ideas for solving a problem, quite often a very punctual one. The total freedom for ideas sharing is essential in a brainstorming session, so that no participant is judged or judge the others for the ideas expressed. up
A citizens' jury is formed by 12 to 50 persons who listen to "testimonials", deliberate and decide on very complex subjects of public interest. They call and hear witnesses, analyse evidence and give a "verdict" (the verdict is transformed into recommendations). up
The citizens' panel is a representative group for the community, formed by citizens willing to offer periodically feedback to the administration on themes of public interest. It usually comprises 500 to 2500 citizens that agree to be part of the group and answer questions coming from the public administration (in general 4 questionnaires per year). It is important that the group reflects the composition of the community, but not necessarily with the accuracy of a sociological sample used for opinion polls, because the goal is not to find out with sociological precision the community's opinion, but to identify problems and solutions. The size of the group depends on the size of the community and the resources available for questioning and analyzing the results. The questionnaires include questions regarding themes the community is interested in. They can focus on one theme or more. The results can be analyzed and integrated in solutions for improving public policies or services. In addition, the results should be published and disseminated in the community.up
The citizens' summit - also called the 21st Century Town Hall Meeting - is a consultation method initiated by the American organization AmericaSpeaks. It was organized for the first time in the USA and is now used on a large scale in Europe - UK, Denmark and even Romania (the city hall of sector 1 of Bucharest). It is a method that stimulates debate around problems of public interest and used to assess the public's opinion on priorities and possible actions the administration needs to take. The advantage of this method is that it can host a large number of participants (from a few hundreds to a few thousands) and it engages them in a constant dialogue. Thus the method combines the advantages of both quantitative and qualitative methods. up
They are groups formed of representatives of stakeholders and the public administration that discuss very concrete subjects, which will become the object of a public decision. These groups can decide to keep discussions confidential until a conclusion is negotiated (closed working groups) or can involve a larger number of citizens in the debate (open working groups). up
Community organizing is a democratically-governed long-term process by which people are brought together to act in their common self-interest to identify community problems and solutions, and to take action by engaging existing power structures to make those solutions a reality.
4 steps of community organizing process:
- Systematically listening to residents and citizens in order to select and prioritize problems and visions;
- Identifying potential solutions, and the people and institutions that can make those solutions possible;
- Take action to solve problems by engaging those people and institutions identified through negotiation, using confrontation and pressure when necessary;
- Build large, sustainable, and democratic groups capable of addressing numerous problems, needs, and wishes in the community; up
Consensus conferences are public meetings in order to discuss technological / technical public policy subjects (such as radioactive waste management, pollution, nuclear energy, etc.). They require active participation from 10 to 15 non-expert persons (sometimes called a jury or a panel) and an equal number of experts. The experts can come from different backgrounds and fields of activity or from different schools within the same area of research. up
They are committees composed by stakeholders' representatives or members of the public appointed by the administration with the goal of gathering information necessary for making a public decision. up
Deliberative Forums
The deliberative forums aim at finding out the population's perspective by using an aleatory group that formulates opinions on the different public policy options, after hearing presentations from experts and stakeholders. The deliberative forums imply a large number of persons - around 100. In general, they are very visible events and attract mass media attention. It is a suitable method for the situation when the public administration wishes to set priorities. The deliberation around the pros and cons of the different public policy options that are submitted to citizens' analysis is the defining element for this forum - hence the name. up
The focus groups are facilitated discussions with a (possible) group of stakeholders and conducted by a professional facilitator, through a set of questions that on a certain subject. The business field used this method for the first time in the ‘50s, as a tool to find out reactions and attitudes towards new products or advertising means from their target public. Since then, focus groups have been used widely in the public sector, research, education, etc. up
Hearings at the authority/institution's headquarters
The hearing (not to be mistaken for an audience) represents the activity by which the citizen makes a proposal or gives an opinion regarding the administration's activity or a public decision during a meeting at the institution's headquarters. The hearing takes place following the administration's invitation or the citizen's own request. Unlike the audience, on the hearing's agenda there are no individual problems to be discussed, only problems of public interest (an audience being the appointment during which an official or civil servant meets with a citizen in order to solve an individual problem). up
The electronic forum is a web application that allows discussions and content (information) posting by the users (in our case, citizens, experts, civil servants, etc.). It is mainly a web page where there are posted, chronologically, users' comments and messages. up
These are individual, with no prior appointment, meetings between a high rank official or civil servant (mayor, prefect, ministry) and citizens, so that the latter can talk about their problems. up
The poll represents a tool used to identify opinions of a certain population by interviewing persons that form a representative sample for that population. up
A public debate is an event where the public administration, the citizens and other interested parties are invited to attend, in order to exchange opinions on a certain topic. Unlike the public hearings where citizens are only invited to present their points of view (the reps of the public administration being there in order to present the theme, ask questions and take notes), in a public debate the representatives of the public administration have the possibility to explain its point of view, to defend it and to express agreement or disagreement with other stakeholders' positions. A public debate is open to anyone wishing to participate or is interested in the topic discussed. up
A public hearing is an event during which several persons are heard, persons that have an opinion or a proposal on a certain subject. Unlike the individual "hearings" or just with persons representing certain organizations, companies, etc., a public hearing is open to anyone wishing to take part in. The specific of public hearings is the rigorous and efficient format that allows the decisional factors to listen to a relatively high number of well articulated and prepared points of view. The administration must announce in due time that such an event will tale place, invite all interested citizens to participate and make efforts in order to be sure that all the stakeholders are invited and can participate. up
A scenario workshop seeks solutions to a socio-economic or even technological problem the community is facing. It is a local meeting during which the participants start with the present (realities, problems), imagine a desirable future and then identify the necessary steps to take in order to achieve it. Based on the present situation and the possible evolution in the respective field, the participants (25 - 30) assess different possible scenarios and solutions to a certain problem. up
Taking decision project from organizations and citizens
In their effort to pursue their objectives, many organizations acquire a lot of expertise in fields where the public administration doesn't hold much information. Obviously, the organizations and citizens' groups are at an advantage to use the expertise accumulated and to promote to a decisional level their own draft regulations (it is one of the ways for groups to achieve their goals). up
It is an interactive method to get "predictions" from a group of experts that answer a set of questionnaires. The experts remain anonymous to each other through out the process and they are independent from each other. The topic subject to this method can be the development of a highway network at national level, the demographic control, the prevention of armed conflicts, the possible technological developments, the use of technology in education, etc. The name of the method comes from the Oracle of Delphi and it was created by the RAND Corporation (USA) at the beginning of the Cold War (between 1950 and 1960) in order to estimate technology's impact on warfare. Thus, the RAND experts developed the Delphi method when they were asked by the American government on the probability, frequency and intensity of enemy possible attacks. Since then, the method has been used especially in the business field and assimilated to the methods of market prediction and research. It is believed by many experts that this method offers more accurate results than those offered by unstructured groups or even by quantitative methods. up
It is the most known and most powerful public participation form, the decision making power being thus transferred to the citizens. The (local) referendum represents a legal way in which the community expresses its wish by voting for or against a certain local public policy solution/proposal. It is an instrument of local direct citizens' participation to the public decision making process. In general, only the public administration can organize a referendum. In Romania a local referendum can be organized by citizens only when the revocation of the local mayor is at stake. up
The Open Space Technology is a participation method suitable for large groups and requires minimum resources from the organizers. It is a planning method in which participants get to self-organize. Its name is misleading, because the process is everything but technical or technological. In reality, the method was designed by Harrison Owen, an American consultant specialized in organizations' management in mid ‘80s. For one of the Open Space type events, the sponsors added by mistake the term "technology" in the title, and since name the method kept this name. Maybe it is better in this case to understand by the term "technology" one participation or organization method, technique or tool. up
A planning cell is usually formed by approximately 25 persons, chosen randomly from the community. They are supposed to work together for a limited period of time (usually for 4 days) in order to offer solutions to a public policy or planning problem. up
The Café is an ingenious method to engage dialogue around an important problem. The method consists in the debate of a topic by a group of over 12 persons in a set up that resembles an actual café. The number of the guests can be as big as possible (there have been cafés organized with over 1000 persons). up
These commissions are formed by representatives of the public administrations and of the organizations representing different or even opposed interests on the certain issue. A well known example is given by the commissions formed by the government, trade unions and business unions, which formulate and analyse different themes or public policy initiatives that affect trade unions and implicitly, business unions. up
Workshops, seminars, conferences
Workshops, seminars and conferences are debate forms on actual subjects. These events allow direct contact between the administration and the representatives of the different stakeholders, giving all of them the opportunity to get to know each other's opinions on a certain subject and discover their common points or differences. It is a very good opportunity for participants' reciprocal "education". up
Written suggestions from the citizens
A letter to the administration accompanied by the right documents can constitute a very good method to take part in the public decision making process, be it at the express request of the administration or from its own initiative. It can be used also to propose a new policy or to contribute to the change of already existing public policies. The administration can accept receiving these proposals all through the public policy process (before its formulation, during its implementation and for its evaluation). up
