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Alternative Budget Initiatives
Alternative budget initiatives are used to take a fresh approach to public sector budgets. They involve a range of organisations coming together to analyse an existing budget, explore the positive and negative impacts on specific groups or issues, challenge the government on specific budgetary choices, and often to form a comprehensive parallel budget.
Deliberative Polling
'Deliberative Polling' is a registered trademark of the Center for Deliberative Democracy, Stanford University
Consensus Conference
Consensus conferences are used to inform and consult members of the public on topics that are complex, controversial, or expert dominated – for example issues around emerging science and technology. They enable panels of citizens to question expert witnesses in a similar way to citizens juries, with the difference being that they are held in public and open to the media.
Local and Global Civic Innovation Tools
Top Tips For Civic Innovation
Think Strategically
Any tool or approach will only be effective if well planned and deployed as part of an engagement strategy. This involves planning, relationship building, and follow-up.
Engage politicians
Politicians like to know what is going on in their constituencies.
Include everyone who should be included
Depending on who your group is, or who you want to represent when you are engaging with decision-makers, you will need to consider how you are ensuring that you are really enabling all relevant voices to be heard.