01 Creating infrastructure

Creating the infrastructure needed to scale the number of people and organisations with the know-how to implement and facilitate citizens’ assemblies. We collect data and good practices, create resources, frameworks, templates, and guidelines, and convene cross-sector networks.

02 Building institutions

Engaging with decision makers to establish citizens’ assemblies as new institutions that lead to systemic change and shift power. We advise ambitious leaders across multiple fields – from cities to governments, cultural and financial organisations, to cooperatives and educational institutions. We are not a practitioner organisation; we build local practitioner capacity.

03 Experimenting with innovations

Experimenting and researching innovations that push the boundaries of the field, improve quality and legitimacy, and accelerate the spread of citizens’ assemblies. While we have evidence of ‘what works’, there are still many unanswered research questions and many innovations to be tried. We are also testing new ways to apply technology and AI before, during, and after citizens’ assemblies.

04 Inspiring storytelling

Creative storytelling that inspires people to learn and to act for another democratic future, powered by the stories of assemblies from around the world. We produce engaging videos and articles, speak at high-level conferences, and partner on exhibitions to reach decision makers and the wider public.

05 Investing in systemic change

Investments in the enabling conditions for sustainable systemic change. We help decision makers to identify the teams and infrastructure needed for ensuring that citizens’ assemblies are sustainable. We invest in getting local civic hubs (in the language of systems change, these are sometimes called “systems orchestrators”) off the ground. We know these hubs are helpful to connect elected and public officials, academia, civil society organisations, and other local community actors to enable network growth, learning, and local funding. So far our investments have been modest; we seek to scale these activities in the future.