Report by DemNext: “Cities are messy, complex, diverse, beautiful places – they are where most people live. Even for those who don’t live in a city, there are policies, budgets, and place-based strategies implemented by decision makers which shape the places they call home. From the neighbourhoods we live in, the public services we have access to, and how we move around, cities and regions are the places where decision making impacts us greatly. At the same time, most people don’t have opportunities to truly shape these decisions. Citizens’ assemblies offer a way to tackle this when they are embedded as part of our democratic infrastructure.
Establishing an ongoing citizens’ assembly while building supportive civic infrastructure requires a completely different mindset than implementing a one-off assembly. It needs to be approached like a marathon, not a sprint. Investing early in what comes after a first assembly is fundamental to building new democratic institutions. Doing so leads to catalytic ripple effects that impact how we fund, innovate, reimagine, and intentionally cultivate new forms of democratic infrastructure.
Those ripple effects begin with decisions made long before assembly members convene for the first time. Starting with this mindset makes it easier to consider how a citizens’ assembly, and those involved in implementing it, are not only people delivering a process, but catalysts for wider change with enduring impact. (Chwalisz & McKinney, 2026).
To us, this means establishing citizens’ assemblies not as one-off events, dependent on political will at a moment in time, but as new institutions, to which power can be shifted. It’s about the establishment of an institution that is embedded in law, parliamentary rules, or binding policy frameworks and the shift in norms and cultures that goes along with this.
We offer guidance and inspiration about how to get there, reflecting on the lessons from DemocracyNext’s Cities Programme and our experience as advisors to two cities and two regions across three continents – Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, Vilnius, Lithuania, Kerewan, The Gambia, and Central Oregon, USA. We also dive into the impact that the assembly has on members and others involved in the entire process...(More)“
