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The key features of nef’s approach to consultation :
- Providing accessible information
We don’t rely on people knowing about the subject or reading long documents. As a participant in a DEMOC said,
‘Everyone contributed on an equal footing. The amount of prior knowledge does not really matter since facts are given during the course of the game.’
In many debates, participants demand speaking time, seek to convince each other that they are right and attack each other’s arguments. In deliberation, by contrast, people see listening as being as important as speaking, investigate differences of opinion and strive for mutual understanding.
The Public Administration Select Committee’s inquiry into Issues and Innovations in Public Participation concluded that, ‘deliberative techniques should be routinely employed to explore the views of citizens on appropriate issues of scientific uncertainty’.
Two people who took part in our trials of Democs commented:
‘I really enjoyed the Democs session; I would have been tempted to carry on for hours’ and ‘ I enjoyed talking with a group on a ‘serious’ issue – debating issues we normally don’t’.
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