Shared Future CIC

Empowering, Sustaining, Innovating

Citizens Inquiries

Climate Assemblies and Juries: A people powered response to the climate emergency

With funding from the Place-based Climate Action Network (PCAN), an ESRC supported network that brings together the research community and decision-makers in the public, private and third sectors, Shared Future CIC has published a guide for local authorities and other bodies. The guide aims to support local authorities and other bodies thinking of commissioning a citizens’ assembly or jury. It considers how such processes might address the climate emergency, what is involved and approaches to design and delivery.

Community Health Action: Four Citizens Inquiries in Dudley Borough 2019

Between September and November 2019, over fifty residents from four areas of Dudley Borough took part in seven sessions of deliberation, to produce a set of recommendations to answer the question:
“For people living in Dudley Borough, what can we all do together to help people be healthy”
Members of the four Citizens Inquiries shared their experiences and opinions in a highly participatory process, supplemented by community research conducted in their neighbourhoods by 18 Inquiry members.

Lancaster District People’s Jury on Climate Change

Thirty local people are helping to develop a new action plan to tackle one of the biggest issues facing the world today – climate change. Lancaster City Council has convened a People’s Jury on climate change, a pioneering way of involving ordinary people in advising the council and others on how best to combat the problem. Shared Future CIC are facilitating the Peoples’ Jury, which is being held at the Storey Institute in Lancaster over February and March 2020

Leeds Climate Change Citizens’ Jury November 2019.

‘What should Leeds do about the emergency of climate change?’ This was the question that 25 randomly selected residents from across the Leeds city region agreed to thrash out over nine sessions between September and November 2019. Their bold recommendations make fascinating reading; taking back control of the local bus services into public ownership, the halting of local airport expansion, retrofitting of housing through local social enterprises and more.

Deliberative Commissioning, 2nd July, Manchester: Resource page

At our free afternoon event on Tuesday 2nd July in Central Manchester, running during National Co-Production Week (1st-5th July 2019) we offered an opportunity for Health and Social Care professionals to learn about citizens inquiries, juries and assemblies and explore their increasing relevance to person-centred health care and towards supporting effective co-production. Download the event resources on this page

Beyond the ballot: How citizens can lead the climate change conversation

Over recent months, as climate change has been propelled into the political mainstream, there has been an upsurge in interest in the role of deliberative processes such as Citizens’ Assemblies and Citizens’ Juries, too. An Assembly is a key demand of Extinction Rebellion, for example. Will politicians act or just nod? In this blog Pete Bryant and Rebecca Willis consider how getting the conditions right makes action more likely.

Citizens Assemblies, Citizens’ Juries and Climate Change

Citizens Assemblies have gone mainstream, no longer are they the preserve of democracy geeks. The potential of ‘mini publics‘ in bringing together a diverse group of citizens to deliberate, reach consensus and deliver a mandate for action to their local and national politicians is fascinating. Especially, when we consider the complex nature of so many problems that our elected officials must grapple with, from Brexit to artificial intelligence to climate change. Peter Bryant tells us more in his new blog.

Realistic Medicine: Recommendations from Scotland’s Citizens Jury on Shared Decision Making

In the autumn of 2018 a diverse group of Scottish Citizens gathered over three days to make recommendations on shared decision-making in health and social care. 24 people shared ideas, opinions and experiences and questioned outside ‘experts’ before attempting to reach some consensus.

The Our Voice Citizens’ Jury on Shared Decision-making: Interim Report documents the process followed and lists, in the participants’ own words, their recommendations.

Inquiry in the Challenge of Care at Home – Final Report

After 6 weeks of deliberation our Inquiry in Care at Home produced compelling recommendations for transforming how services in Greater Manchester are commissioned and delivered. The ‘what’ and the ‘why. Following the launch of the Inquiry report we now invite Health and Social Care Commissioners across Greater Manchester to commit to considering ‘how’ the recommendations might be implemented.