Understanding the core principles of participative democracy and a framework for measuring impact

One of the key themes of participative democracy and engagement is whether the engagement process has a meaningful impact on the outcomes of an inquiry. The Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee heard early on in its ongoing inquiry into public participation that this ties in heavily to both incentives to participate, and to trust. Put simply, people are more likely to engage with the work of the Scottish Parliament if they feel like their voice matters. They will trust in the process more if the outcome is one of meaningful impact.

This fellowship is intended to explore one of the Citizens’ Panel recommendations in particular: “Build a strong evidence base for deliberative democracy to determine its effectiveness and develop a framework for measuring impact”. The fellow will explore what the core guiding principles in applying deliberative approaches might be, and how these might be measured.

This is expected to be an interview-based project, focused on speaking to practitioners and participants (including politicians and members of the public) in deliberative approaches, both at the Scottish Parliament and further afield.