Deliberative Engagement for Local Government – Sunday 15 June 2025

Woodville Town Hall, 72 Woodville Rd, Woodville, SA

Want to connect with people in your community who don’t normally engage?
Need to diffuse budget outrage?
Need to help your community find common ground… or a way forward on divisive issues?
Or just super interested in deliberative practice?

This meeting is for you!

This meeting explores key aspects of deliberative democracy, and what makes it different from traditional engagement methods.
We will share a number of Australian local government case studies which showcase:

- how deliberative processes can help you prevent outrage in your communities around budgets
- how to effectively manage polarising problems concerning your community (saving time, money and reducing community backlash), and
- approaches which can embed deliberative practice in the work of councils.

In particular, we will go deep into participatory budgeting and how it can help you. This will be a fun and interactive workshop, where the focus will be on you and your council’s needs. We will explore the challenges you have and how you can overcome them.

You will have the benefit of two of Australia’s most experienced deliberative practitioners – Emma Fletcher, CoCEO democracyCo and Sonia Randhawa, from Sortition Foundation.

This meeting is ideal for elected representatives, senior council staff and community engagement practitioners alike. Enjoy a relaxed session where Emma and Sonia will be available to provide you with bespoke advice that meets your individual council needs.

If you’d like to learn more about this innovative and truly democratic approach to policy making, make a weekend of it and come along as well to the national conference the previous day - Citizen Assemblies - Policy without Politics - on Sat 14 June, at the same venue!