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Some of my initial thoughts on this, a wee #thread: This is a momentous announcement - a potential milestone for democratic innovation in Scotland. But as ever, the devil will be in the detail of how this temporary institution will be set up 1/?
Its legitimacy & effectiveness depends on various factors. I will focus on 3. Firstly, how will the broader public be included in the conversation? For example, there could be an online crowdsourcing platform to feed evidence and arguments at various stages of the assembly. 2/?
Also, assembly members can be supported to facilitate community meetings in their localities, helping to inform their thinking and contribution during the assembly -a kind of a hub and spokes system that keeps the assembly somewhat connected to the ground across the country. 3/?
Secondly, there must be further clarity about the task/job given to the assembly, because that determines the evidence, speakers and sessions needed to inform deliberation at various stages of the process. 4/?
This also requires clarity about how the results will be used -what's the power of the assembly? How to avoid subsequent cherry-picking of the recommendations? But also how to ensure checks & balances in how the assembly connects to other democratic institutions. 5/?
All of this is about systemic coherence - the assembly cannot be an island, it needs to be clearly placed in the context of other institutions and how it relates to them. 6/?
Finally, an related, ideally cross-party support should be sought, so that this is treated and built like a civic institution, rather than a political process coming from one party. 7/?
Some level of cross-party support and contribution may also be desirable for example in the Oversight Board, which is a key mechanism in citizens' assemblies - it gathers folk from across the spectrum of a debate (as well as some more 'neutral' members, and it ensures that.. 8/?
...the evidence, the speakers, the perspectives, the design of the sessions, etc... are balanced. The Oversight Board guranteees procedural fairness - members may agree or not with the results, but ideally they must agree that the process was fair and balanced. 9/10
So, exciting times but lots of work (political, administrative, civic) ahead to make the most of this opportunity for democratic innovation & political renewal. Scotland can benefit from experiences in other countries,but the #CitizensAssembly must be bespoke to our context 10/10
