Knowledge
Citizens’ assembly
A citizens’ assembly is a body of randomly selected people that deliberates on a specific question and gives politics its recommendations.
For a citizens’ assembly, a group is drawn by lot to reflect the population as closely as possible — by age, gender, place of residence and education. These people learn from experts, deliberate with facilitation and develop shared recommendations.
Citizens’ assemblies complement representative democracy: they bring in everyday perspectives and build trust, but do not replace elected decision-making bodies. The recommendations are usually advisory.
Key features
- Random selection by lot rather than application
- As representative a composition as possible
- Facilitated, well-informed deliberation
- Recommendations to politics and administration
Between assembly sessions, MyIdeas captures ideas and feedback from the wider public — as input and for transparent follow-up.
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