Evaluating Deliberative Processes

Deliberative processes such as citizens’ juries, consensus conferences, or deliberative polls are increasingly used to engage citizens and stakeholders about challenging public health issues for the purposes of informing policymaking (Abelson, 2009; Scutchfield, Hall, & Ireson, 2006). Yet, there is a paucity of research evidence about the effectiveness of deliberative processes in real settings (Culyer & Lomas, 2006; Mendelberg, 2002).

The purpose of this fact sheet is to introduce public health practitioners to the evaluation of deliberative processes, specifically:

• Why should we evaluate deliberative processes?
• What should be the focus of an evaluation?
• What are the different evaluative approaches? And
• What contextual factors matter when evaluating deliberative processes?

Finally, the fact sheet presents three frameworks that could be relevant to supporting more effective evaluative practices.