There are various methods of participation with different levels of applicability depending on the specific purpose. Our favourite method is the Citizens’ Report with the following specifics:

• Random selection of the participants ensures that all relevant social groups are represented.
• Participants are working under serious conditions at a normal work schedule for usually four full days, they are paid for and are given a specified task.
• They receive thorough information by experts. In addition they are made familiar with opinions of representatives of associations and politicians.
• Thus, they achieve considerable knowledge on the field they are working on within a very short period of time. Unlike professional experts they are not influenced by personal economic interests and unlike politicians they don’t worry about being re-elected. Besides, they do not belong to any ideological “school”. Members of political parties are rare. All individual interests are neutralised by the method of random selection. Usually individual interests are hardly to be found.
• Participants take part in randomly changing small groups in order to discuss the problem and agree on proposals for its solution that are presented to all members later.
• Thus, each participant has the opportunity to reconsider the results at any time.
• The results are condensed and published in a Citizens’ Report.
• The whole process is organised, structured and documented by an indepentend institution like the Society for Citizens’ Report.

The commissioning body decides on the subset of citizens’ proposals to implement and what measures it takes to accomplish this.

The method is also known under the name of Planungszelle or Planning Cell (another denomination for a panel or working group of c. 25 persons).

These are only the core elements of the Citizens’ Report system. For more information, please refer to the German texts in the Downloads section or contact us at info<nospam>@<nospam>citizens-report.com.