The November 2017 Symposium event convened by newDemocracy sought to challenge opinion leaders by asking them what practical testable improvements could be made to our democracy in order to improve public trust in how we make public decisions. It sought to move the discussion from one of complaint about problems into one of potential solutions....Continue reading
This guide from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the newDemocracy Foundation is designed to support the needs of elected representatives and their advisors—those who would like to strengthen how elected politicians engage with their voters. It is meant for those decision-makers who want to be inspired by new and innovative ways to bring...Continue reading
A widely held view is that governments rely heavily on polling to make decisions. Our experience, drawn from liaising with MPs, government agencies and stakeholders, is that polling is infrequently drawn upon and that MPs will often rely on anecdotal evidence – people who contact the MP directly through their offices being one example. At...Continue reading
We thank the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into constitutional reforms and referendums. Our submission is focused on the second item in the Terms of Reference – Suggestions for mechanisms to review the Australian Constitution and for community consultation on any...Continue reading
Read the full document here. Parliamentary Committees are the backbone of our Parliament. They scrutinise problems and policy as MPs on these committees develop expertise in their particular subject areas, bringing an informed view to the consideration of legislation. At their best, they showcase elected representatives from all sides working together on the in-depth exploration...Continue reading
By some metrics, American democracy is in great shape. Despite a pandemic, and a switch to mass mail-in voting, the 2020 presidential election witnessed the highest voter turnout in U.S. history with 158 million people casting ballots. That’s about 66% of the voting-eligible population, the highest percentage since 1900 when 74% voted. Of course, many factors may have...Continue reading
We thank The House of Lords Constitution Committee and Baroness Taylor of Bolton for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into the future governance of the United Kingdom (UK). While we note the Committee has posed six specific questions, one theme unites them all and one public sentiment underpins the reason for this inquiry:...Continue reading
As we draw this podcast series to a close, it’s fitting to take a global perspective on public deliberation with Claudia Chwalisz who leads the OECD’s work on innovative citizen participation. Claudia is co-authoring a number of influential reports, convening a global network and maintaining an online digest, Participo. Links Catching the Deliberate Wave report...Continue reading
We thank the Senate’s Standing Committees on Finance and Public Administration for this opportunity to contribute to the inquiry into the current capability of the Australian Public Service (APS). We recommend that the APS improve its public engagement capacity by (a) adopting and (b) measuring adherence to OECD-standard deliberative engagement practice. These deliberative processes build...Continue reading
Bobbi Allan was randomly selected for a public deliberation in early 2018. Coincidentally, she has a background as a facilitator so can offer an unusual perspective as she describes the residual effect of a deliberative experience. Bobbi Allan is a skilled facilitator with a background in training and development in the community and government sectors....Continue reading