Technical Papers

Google, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic have commissioned projects based on deliberative democracy. What was the purpose of each project? How was deliberation designed and implemented, and what were the outcomes? In this Technical Paper, Malkin and Alnemr describe the commissioning context, the purpose and remit, and the outcomes of these deliberative projects. Finally, they offer insights on contextualising projects within the broader aspirations of deliberative democracy.

Authors: Canning Malkin and Nardine Alnemr

Citizens' assemblies, no matter how well-designed and well-resourced, remain embedded in the patriarchal structures which shape everyday life. In this technical paper, Granaz Baloch, Novieta Sari and Melisa Ross provide actionable recommendations on how the governance of global citizens' assemblies can build in the principles of gender mainstreaming in their design and implementation.

Authors: Granaz Baloch, Novieta H. Sari and Melisa Ross

The first task of designing a global citizens’ assembly for impact is to identify its advocates in institutions of global governance. Without advocates, global citizens’ assemblies risk being reduced to spectacular but inconsequential ‘talk shops’ without any credible pathway for impact. This technical paper maps key actors operating in and around the United Nations (UN) system in terms of their power to set the agenda, include or exclude stakeholders, and act on recommendations. It also examines their likely support or opposition towards initiatives to promote direct citizen participation, such as a global citizens’ assembly at the UN.

Author: Aishwarya Machani

The range of actors and institutions involved in climate governance makes it challenging to navigate their interrelations, particularly how they shape each other’s interests and preferences. This technical paper maps the power dynamics between these actors, specifically non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other stakeholders in the meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The results from the survey and interviews with representatives of NGOs admitted to COP meetings aim to inform how global citizens’ assemblies can achieve and maintain influence in global climate governance and sustain engagement with other civil society organisations.

Authors: Dahlia Simangan and Truong Pham

Citizens’ assemblies operate like a theatre. On the front stage, we see a diverse group of actors – people who look just like the rest of us – cast for the role of Assembly Members. Less visible, however, is the backstage or the governance of citizens’ assemblies. This is the stage where the script or forum design is written, the production budget is determined, and the rules for casting Assembly Members, facilitators, and experts are negotiated. The decisions made in the backstage have direct impacts on the performance taking place at the front stage of the assembly. These decisions determine who gets a voice, what kind of support cast members will receive, and what contingency plans are in place when challenges arise.  In this Technical Paper, an international team of researchers examined the backstage or governance of citizens’ assemblies in East Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The aim of this paper is to learn lessons from the governance of citizens’ assemblies around the world and, in so doing, generate actionable recommendations for the governance of citizens’ assemblies on a global scale.

Authors: Rikki Dean, Alan Marx, Indira Latorre, Santiago Niño, Felipe Rey, Su Yun Woo and Ming Zhuang

How exactly are global citizens’ assemblies experienced in local communities? How does this global process connect to local concerns, mobilise action, build solidarity, and generate lasting impact? What governance mechanisms should be in place to embed global citizens’ assemblies in local communities? To answer these questions, the Global Citizens’ Assembly Network commissioned Amilton Luis and Lucas Veloso to take a deep dive into how a rural community in Mozambique experienced the world’s first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis and generate recommendations on how future global citizens’ assemblies can be better embedded in local communities.

Authors: Lucas Veloso and Amilton Luis

Written by Canning Malkin, Franziska Maier, and Nardine Alnemr, this technical paper critically examines the process of agenda-setting in four cases of transnational and global citizens’ assemblies. The aim of this technical paper is to bring to light the overt and subtle factors that shape the process of defining the scope, remit, and topic of discussions in citizens’ assemblies and reflect on the implications of agenda-setting in the conduct and impact of citizens’ assemblies.

Authors: Canning Malkin, Franziska Maier and Nardine Alnemr

What does it take to run an effective and accountable global citizens’ assembly? How are roles and responsibilities distributed across an international network of process designers, project implementers, and delivery partners? What structures can be put in place, so principles of deliberative democracy are not only operationalised in the process design of the global citizens’ assembly but also in organising the assembly itself?  The Global Citizens’ Assembly Network (GloCAN) challenged Melisa Ross, Hazel Jovita, and Lucas Veloso to answer these questions through a governance review of the world’s first Global Assembly on the Climate and Ecological Crisis.

Authors: Melisa Ross, Hazel Jovita and Lucas Veloso