A citizens' assembly is a group of people selected by lottery from the general population to deliberate on important public questions so as to exert an influence.[1][2][3] Other names and variations include citizens' jury, citizens' panel, people's panel, mini-publics, people's jury, policy jury, consensus conference and citizens' convention.[4][5][better source needed][6][7][8]
A citizens' assembly uses elements of a jury to create public policy.[9] Its members form a representative cross-section of the public, and are provided with time, resources and a broad range of viewpoints to learn deeply about an issue. Through skilled facilitation, the assembly members weigh trade-offs and work to find common ground on a shared set of recommendations. Citizens' assemblies can be more representative and deliberative than public engagement, polls, legislatures or ballot initiatives.[10][11] They seek quality of participation over quantity.
^Pearse, Hilary; Warren, Mark, eds. (2008). Designing deliberative democracy: the British Columbia Citizens' Assembly. Theories of institutional design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-88507-2.
^Pimbert, Michel; Wakeford, Tom (October 2003). "Prajateerpu, Power and Knowledge: The Politics of Participatory Action Research in Development Part 1. Context, Process and Safeguards". Action Research. 1 (2): 184–207. doi:10.1177/14767503030012004. S2CID144374547.