ABSTRACT
Across the globe, government agencies and not-for-profi t organizations convene civic forums in which citizens deliberate public policy issues. These forums, referred to by some as “mini-publics” (e.g., Fung, 2003; Skorupinski, Baranzke, Ingensiep, & Meinhardt, 2007), commonly take place outside the formal political process but are meant to infl uence it, if indirectly, by introducing the public’s views into the policy arena and broadening public discourse on the topic (Delli Carpini, Lomax, Cook, & Jacobs, 2004). Participants in these forums are asked to deliberate on issues that traditionally have been entrusted to experts, such as municipal budgets, new biomedical technologies, environmental regulations, transportation, energy policy, genetically modifi ed foods, and healthcare reform. Often these issues are controversial or can be characterized as wicked social problems (Rittel & Webber, 1973). The methods employed in the different forums are varied; some are implemented on a grand scale, involving sophisticated communication technologies and hundreds or even thousands of people assembled for a long weekend, while other forums may consist of small groups of about 15 to 20 people that meet over a period of several months, or of groups that convene over a period of several days simultaneously in different locations. The various types of public deliberation forums are predicated on the shared belief that citizens have the
right and capacity to engage in a democratic process that results in policy recommendations, and that this process benefi ts society and policy decision making (Gutmann & Thompson, 1996; Abelson et al., 2003).
