In 2024, the world goes to the polls - and it’s time for UK democracy to evolve.
When I became chair of Involve, there was little on the national stage that could be described as democratic reform. Metro mayors have been perhaps the most refreshing change to English democracy we have seen. And yet compared with their US or continental counterparts, even these mayors lack significant powers and autonomy to really make a difference to their places, without needing the go-ahead from Westminster and Whitehall.
Internationally, the picture over the past decade has been different. Governments all around the world have not only experimented with, but increasingly work with deliberative institutions. The OECD tell us that from 2020 to 2023 the number of institutional assemblies grew from 22 to 41, the majority of which are carried out locally or regionally.
And in a year where 70 countries will go to the polls and 2 billion people will have the chance to vote, the UK will hold its own General Election. There is the prospect that a refreshed government will have a serious interest in democratic reform.
This year 2023-24, Involve has focused on readying the public, politicians, and officials for this reform to come. Our job was simple. Keep the work going. Keep the work growing. Keep innovating.
We have continued to deliver the Sciencewise programme - where public dialogue has been able to inform thinking on everything from genome editing to AI.
We have continued to support the Scottish government with its work to develop a citizens minimum income guarantee. In Northern Ireland we’ve worked with citizens on a range of pressing issues, from renewable energy infrastructure to the environmental factors affecting health.
We have developed and deepened our work with local authorities, for instance on Camden's Climate Panel and Housing and Property Panel, as well as on the Grenfell Support Programme.
Involve has become a national - indeed global - leader in putting citizens at the heart of tackling climate change and environmental degradation. We have taken climate change out of the technical sphere and made it a matter of public opinion and deliberation.
And perhaps most importantly we have worked to understand our impact better so that we can focus our energy where it brings the greatest results.
While we get ready for the democratic transformation we yearn for on the national stage, we are developing new democratic instincts with the wider ecosystem. We are nurturing democratic muscle-memory amongst a growing number of citizens who take part and enjoy their engagement. And we are part of an international movement, where eventually the feedback loops will be too strong for this little island nation to resist.