The integrity and openness of everybody involved – those running it and those taking part in it – are among the most important elements of successful deliberative public engagement.
This means:
- The scope for making a difference to the policy or decision is explicitly declared at the start. In particular it is important to be clear about things that cannot be changed as a result of the process, in order to manage expectations.
- Decision makers and/or policy makers are sincere in their willingness to be open-minded. They listen and take account of the views expressed by participants, both on points of detail and more generally on how policy issues are framed and considered.
- the organisers clearly communicate the results of the process.