|
15.1 Citizens' Juries were first developed in Germany and the USA. They
grew out of a perceived need to give ordinary citizens a stronger voice and
role in democratic decision-making. In the UK they have so far mainly been
used in local government and the health sector. They are a structured
method of obtaining detailed, considered views from members of the public
on particular issues. Juries are usually made up of 12-16 lay people
(neither experts in the particular issue nor members of interest groups),
who hear evidence from a range of specialist witnesses over several days
and draw conclusions.
15.2 Juries demand considerable commitment from jurors, and resources
from the commissioning service. So it is important to have a very clear
framework for the jury, which explains the issue, the role of the jury, and
what will be done with the conclusions reached. The issue itself should be
important enough to justify the time, effort and cost involved.
Points to think about:
 | Co-ordination: the issue you want the jury to consider may well
impact on the responsibilities of several organisations. If this is so, it
is important to bring together all the bodies involved to make sure that
the jury¹s conclusions are considered by those with the power to make
changes. Otherwise you will have wasted the considerable resources invested
in the exercise, as well as the significant commitment of the jurors.
| Composition: methods of selecting jurors vary (and it's sensible to
use professionals here). You might wish to try to get a representative
sample of the local population (although with such small numbers of people
it is clear that the jury could not really be representative); the jury
could be largely self-selecting (but be careful of using volunteers only,
as they will almost inevitably be very unrepresentative); or you might use
a random selection method (eg using the Electoral Roll).
| Location: if possible, hold the juries in neutral buildings this
will help avoid feelings that you are controlling the jury. An independent
facilitator or moderator should be used.
| Publicity: you will need to choose between keeping the jury process
completely open and allowing the jury enough privacy to debate and discuss
the issue without inhibitions. Will the jury be open to observers? Will the
organisation record the proceedings? Juries may attract media attention.
Will the juries give briefings or interviews once the process is complete?
| Resources: juries need a great deal of back-up organisation from
the commissioning service, and you shouldn't underestimate the time
involved.
| Reporting: it is normal practice for reports of juries to be
published. You¹ll need to consider how this will be done (in some cases the
jurors themselves have drafted the report, but they need to have advance
warning and time and resources if they will be required to do this).
Reports should reflect the conclusions of the jury, and include any
dissenting opinions. You should make a clear commitment about how and when
you will respond to the report.
| | | | | |
Pros
| Provides informed feedback.
| Members of jury have an opportunity to make a real contribution to
public affairs and generally seem to enjoy the experience.
| |
Cons
| Expensive.
| Not suitable for all issues.
| Works best where organisations have already made substantial
progress in their consultation.
| Jurors will not want to commit the time and effort unless they are
given some undertaking that their views will count.
| May not be representative of views of general public, who don't
have the benefit of expert evidence.
| | | | |
Costs: very expensive (can be £20,000 or more).
Use to: involve people in detailed consideration of key issue.
|
In 1995, the Local Government Management Board sponsored five pilot
projects using Citizens' Juries. Local authorities found that the juries
produced ideas that were fresh to the Council, and recommendations were
better informed
and more thought-out, and therefore more useful, than had been expected.
The juries consisted of between 11 and 16 members, and sessions lasted from
2.5 days to 4 days.
|
Juries need a great deal of back-up organisation from the commissioning
service.
|
