Developing Effective Leaders
Citizen Engagement through
Public Deliberation
Renée A. Daugherty, Ph.D.
and Sue E. Williams, Ph.D.
Experience with democracy . . .
Government where everyone’s opinion counts.
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Citizen frustration . . .
Intolerance . . . Ignorance . . . Apathy . . .
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Objectives
 Increase knowledge of public
deliberation and how it can engage
people in public decision making.
 Become actively involved in fostering
public deliberation as a means of
resolving challenging public problems.
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The Public Decision-Making Process
Public Problem
Facts
Myths
Values
Public Decision
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Activity
The Case of the Ugli Orange
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Addressing Public Issues
 For democracy to  Ways to get public input:
function, citizens
must accept
responsibility in
making public
decisions.
Voting
 Polling
 Debate
 Letters to the editor
 Civil disobedience
 Demonstrations/protests
 Town Hall Meetings
 Boycotts

Coming Together as a Community
Case Study - The Birmingham Story
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Public Deliberation
 A way of reasoning and talking together:
 Weighs alternative solutions to a public
problem.
 Considers consequences, costs, and benefits.
 Challenges people to identify trade-offs.
 Respects others’ perspectives and values.
 Requires that people:
 Interact peacefully.
 Share knowledge and perspectives on issues.
 Organize to act publicly on these issues.
Public Deliberation (Cont.)
 May reveal new possibilities for action.
 The goal is to move people toward
shared, stable, well-informed public
judgments, based on what is valuable to
them about important issues.
 A means to find common ground for
action and secure commitment to work
together.
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Public Deliberative Forums
 Center around a public problem (not a
solution that a group is trying to
advance)
 Complex, no simple answers
 There is time for deliberation; not an
emergency
 Deliberative; beyond debate or simple
discussion
 Diverse participants and perspectives
Public Deliberative Forums (Cont.)
 15 – 20 participants sit in a circle
 Use an Issue Book
 Facilitated by a trained moderator and
recorder
 2 to 2½ hours
 Opening
 Deliberation
of approaches
 Reflections/Closing
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Issue Books
 A structured dialogue offering 3-4 approaches
to a challenging public problem.
 Over 50 topics are currently available from
public deliberative organizations.
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Moderators and Recorders
 Facilitate the deliberative forum by keeping
discussion on track and recording the
deliberations.
 Trained at Public Policy Institutes
 Currently over 200 trained moderators and
recorders in Oklahoma.
 Visit www.OKDeliberates.org to find
someone in your area.
After the Forum
 Nationally:
 Moderators from multiple forums report
outcomes of the deliberation and public
deliberation organizations prepare national
reports (3 or 4 per year)
 In Oklahoma or locally:
 Forum outcomes are compiled into a final
state or local report, which is shared with
the community and officeholders
 The public takes action
Studies of Public Deliberation
 Deliberative Forum Participants:
 Come from every part of society.
 Reconsider their own opinions and
judgments.
 Approach issues more realistically
considering costs, consequences and
trade-offs associated with policy options.
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Studies of Public Deliberation (Cont.)
 Deliberative Forum Participants:
 Reconsider & develop greater
understanding for the views of others.
 Define their self interests more broadly.
 Develop a greater sense of confidence in
what they can do politically.
 Become more interested in political and
social issues.
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Developing a Habit of Public Deliberation
Issue
Framing
Convening,
Moderating,
Recording, and Reporting
Deliberating as a
Participant in a Forum
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Awareness
Competence
Public Deliberation Organizations
 Both NIF and Everyday Democracy
produce issue books to guide community
discussion. See their websites for
complete lists.
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Oklahoma Partnership for
Public Deliberation
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How to Get Involved
 Go to www.nifi.org or www.everyday-
democracy.org and review topics that
are of interest to you and represent a
problem in your community.
 Visit OPPD’s website at
www.OKDeliberates.org.
 Conduct a Forum!
 Become a Moderator and Recorder!
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Final Thoughts
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world; indeed
that is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
“Few of us will have the greatness to bend history
itself, but each of us can work to change a small
portion of events, and in the total of all those acts
will be written the history of this generation.”
Robert F. Kennedy
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