We believe in a more just, joyful, and collaborative future, where everyone has meaningful power to shape their societies.

DemocracyNext is an international research & action institute focused on broadening who has power and enhancing how we make decisions together.

We work to scale three powerful democratic practices – sortition (randomly selecting decision-makers), deliberation (structured spaces where people learn together and make informed decisions), and rotation (taking turns representing others and being represented). These ancient practices offer practical solutions to modern democratic challenges, enabling people to be with complexity, exercise collective intelligence, and find common ground.

We provide leaders who want to reinvigorate democracy with cutting-edge networks, rigorous research, and practical advice to learn about, establish, and institutionalise these democratic innovations. Read our 2024 Impact Report.

Why this matters

People are losing faith in politics. There is a ‘triple trust’ dilemma: people’s trust in institutions, institutions’ trust in people, and people’s trust in one another are alarmingly low. Important decisions get stuck or ignored. Meanwhile, many are drawn to authoritarian alternatives.

We believe people are right to be frustrated. Our current democratic institutions are failing to give people real agency over the decisions that shape their lives. In its true meaning, democracy is about more than elections. Rather than simply defending the status quo, we need to shift power to citizens through new democratic processes that actually work.

Moreover, for the cost of one day of US election spending, we could fund hundreds of citizens' assemblies worldwide – it’s time to rebalance.

Sortition and deliberation offer a better way forward. When people are randomly selected and given time, information, and structured conversation to work through complex problems together, remarkable things happen:

  • Better decisions: Diverse groups free from electoral pressures can tackle long-term challenges that politicians avoid
  • Trust is rebuilt: People regain confidence in democracy - and in each other - when they see fellow citizens making thoughtful, informed decisions
  • Genuine representation: Random selection ensures decision-makers truly reflect the communities they serve – across age, background, geography, and perspective
  • Broken deadlocks: Deliberation moves beyond polarised debate to find common ground on seemingly intractable issues
  • Empowered citizens: Deliberators gain skills, confidence, and lasting engagement in civic life

Our hypothesis is that if people have greater agency in decision making, the ripple effects contribute to a thriving, resilient society of active citizens, where people have stronger trust in one another, a meaningful sense of belonging, and are less polarised. Sortition-based deliberations, like citizens’ assemblies, lead to more legitimate and informed decisions, policies, and resource allocations.

The challenge

Despite approximately 1,000 examples worldwide – a genuine deliberative wave – sortition and deliberation remain little-known as pragmatic alternatives for democratic renewal. Whilst many people get excited when they learn about these methods, most don't know where to start if they want to use them.

The real transformation requires moving beyond one-off initiatives. As David Van Reybrouck said: "One-off assemblies are like one healthy meal. Better than nothing, but it won't give you a healthy lifestyle. To rebuild trust in democracy, we need something lasting."

Only a handful of deliberative bodies using sortition have been institutionalised as permanent features of decision-making, genuinely shifting power. One citizens' assembly with one group of people might lead to better decisions for those involved, but it won't transform democracy and power structures in a meaningful way.

Our vision

Imagine the Deliberative City: an entire city buzzing with randomly selected groups of citizens deliberating on different government decisions, whilst schools, universities, museums, cooperatives, pension funds, and other organisations also use sortition and deliberation for their governance. Now imagine this expanding to the Deliberative Region, Nation, World. People activated as citizens, feeling heard, and empowered. Three-way trust rebuilt.

For this vision to become reality, we need more leaders to know: what these democratic methods are; how effective they can be; how to implement them; and how to make them permanent features of institutional decision-making.

Our values inform how we approach our work – with rigour, curiosity, in collaboration with others, and with an ambition to be visionary. We don’t just tinker at the margins of the status quo. We seed the change we want to see.

Three pillars of our work: Building awareness, capacity, and institutions

We work strategically and in collaboration with others to support and grow the global deliberative democracy movement by:

01 Building awareness

Making sortition and deliberation widely known and wanted

We engage in creative storytelling and advocacy that inspires people to learn about and champion another democratic future, powered by real stories from around the world.

02 Building capacity

Making it easy to implement and innovate with these democratic methods

We create the tools, guides, and resources needed to help people and organisations implement deliberative processes using sortition, whilst experimenting with and researching innovations that improve quality, enhance legitimacy, and accelerate their spread.

03 Building institutions

Embedding these democratic methods as permanent features of decision making

We engage with decision makers to establish deliberative processes using sortition as new institutions that lead to systemic change and genuinely shift power. We advise ambitious leaders across multiple sectors – from cities to national governments, cultural and financial organisations, to cooperatives and educational institutions. We build local capacity rather than delivering the processes ourselves. We also invest in the enabling conditions for sustainable systemic change, helping decision-makers identify the teams and infrastructure needed to ensure deliberative processes are sustainable and effective.

Find out more:

Download an overview: About DemocracyNext (PDF)