How to conduct a Consensus Conference

Consensus Conference

Consensus Conferences aim to give members of the community a chance to have their say on community issues, to increase their knowledge of and abiltity to participate in such a discussion, and to come to one position statement that all participants can 'own'.

At the end of a Consensus Conference, the outcome should be a position statement that reflects the joint decision(s) of all participants on an issue or proposal.

Method

1. Select an advisory/planning committee to have the overall responsibility of making sure that all rules of a democratic, fair and transparent process have been followed.
2. The committees should then:
   1. Organise a public meeting and advertise the venue, time and topic to the public, experts in the field to be discussed, the media and appropriate decision-making bodies.
   2. Select participants for the citizen panel, ensuring a representative sample of the geographic area and/or relevant community groups (about 14 people).
   3. Hire a professional facilitator to work with the citizen panel during its preparation.
3. Book suitable venues for the citizen panel to meet over two weekends to work with a facilitator to formulate the questions to be taken up at the conference, and to participate in the selection of experts to answer them.
4. With the help of the citizen panel, select the expert panel in a way that ensures that essential opposing views and professional conflicts can emerge and be discussed at the conference. Good experts are not only knowledgeable but also open-minded and good communicators with an over-view of their field.
5. Hold a formal conference (2-4 days) at which:
   1. Panelists hear experts' responses to questions.
   2. After hearing these responses, panelists can ask follow up questions.
   3. The audience is given opportunity to ask questions.
   4. The panel deliberates and prepares a position statement to achieve consensus on the issue.
   5. Panelists present outcomes.
6. Planning committee prepares a report of the outcomes and distributes to panelists, media and decision-making bodies.

Strengths

• Assists in the facilitation of public debate from a range of perspectives.
  
• Empowers lay people to develop an informed understanding and make some contribution to the development of policy on a sensitive topic.
  
• Demonstrates a plurality of views on issues.
  
• Bridges the gap between experts and lay people.
  
• Can develop new knowledge.
  

Weaknesses

• High costs for set up and recruitment of participants and staging the event.
  
• The conference would run for a 2-4 day period and therefore resources will be costly.
  
• The process of panelist selection can be difficult. Stakeholders analysis must be undertaken to predetermine who are the relevant groups.This will ensure that representation from the relevant groups is achieved.
  
• Need to draw citizens for panels that are representative and from a wide range of backgrounds rather than members of the community who are usually present in participatory processes.
• Strict adherence to the rules of implementation is required for the conference to be successful.
  
• The formalized nature of the tool can restrict impartiality.
  
• Rapid production of reports and findings is required.
  
• Choice of an effective facilitator is critical to the success of the conference.