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What is a Consensus Conference?

Consensus conferences are a tool for promoting public participation in policy decisions. They have historically focused on developing science and technology issues, including such diverse topics as self-driving cars, gene editing, and telecommunications infrastructure.

What distinguishes a consensus conference as a policy informing tool is the extent to which the values and perspectives of community members take center stage. A consensus conference relies on the recruitment of a diverse panel of 'community representatives' whose perspectives and interests drive a three stage process:

  1. Education and Topic Formation - The community representatives review background information on the topic at hand and learn about the various stakeholders and narratives involved in public debate. This is followed by a process of group dialogue in which the community representatives begin to frame the topic for themselves. During this process the panel decides which aspects of the topic they wish to explore further and which types of experts and stakeholders they want to question. They also discuss how the topic may impact the various parts of the community they represent, and highlight concerns they think may be missing from the current debate.
  2. Engagement with Experts and Stakeholders- A panel of experts and stakeholders is assembled based on the interests and questions of the community representatives. These panelists may come from academia, activist organizations, industry groups, non-profit organizations, governments, etc. - anyone who might be a stakeholder or expert relevant to the topic under scrutiny. These two groups engage in a discussion driven by the community representatives, in which the panelists' narratives can be further developed, challenged, and compared with each other.
  3. Informing Policymakers - In the final part of the conference the community representatives attempt to reach a consensus on how their communities and policymakers should move forward. This includes flagging areas of concern, declaring which expert narratives they find most (and least!) compelling, and identifying aspects of the topic that are still undecided. The community representatives compile this information into a report that is promoted to the wider public and to relevant policy makers, including elected officials at all levels of government.

The overall goal of the consensus conference is to broaden and enhance public discussion by complementing the ideas and views of traditional experts with those of impacted communities. This approach can result in better policy making by promoting more public buy-in and uncovering issues overlooked by traditionally recognized experts. More generally, increased public participation and influence in important science and technology issues may be viewed as a crucial goal for realizing just and responsive democratic governance in the modern world.

Examples of Public Participation Efforts

A consensus conference is only one model for increasing public participation in science and technology decision making. Below are some concrete examples of efforts to enable public involvement with various participatory models.

  • Washtenaw County Autonomous Vehicles Consensus Conference (2018, Engaging Scientists in Policy and Advocacy) - Used the Consensus Conference model to bring together residents of Washtenaw County to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by autonomous vehicles for their communities.
  • Wind Energy Lanscapes (2009-2011, Roopali Phadke at Macalester College ) - Used the Citizen Jury model to promote discussion and consensus building on the development of wind energy in Michigan, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.
  • Rural Climate Dialogues (2014-2016, The Jefferson Center) - Used the Citizen Jury model to center the concerns and needs of rural communities related to climate change and bring them to policymakers.

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