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develop a transparent and non-aligned viewpoint. “
Citizen jurors bring
with them an intrinsic worth in the good sense and wisdom born of their
own knowledge and personal experience. The Citizens' Jury provides the
opportunity to add to that knowledge and to exchange ideas with their fel-
low citizens. The result is a collective one, in which each juror has a valu-
able contribution to make
” (Jefferson Center 2002).
In a Citizens' Jury, participants are a representative sample of citizens.
The participants are briefed in detail on the background and current think-
ing relating to a particular issue, and asked to discuss possible approaches,
usually in a public forum (occasionally even televised). Jurors are required
to make their judgement in the form of a report, as they would in legal
juries.
9.8 Creativity and Problem Solving
For citizens to become actively engaged in shaping their futures, tech-
niques are needed which help participants to explore problems and develop
ideas for solutions. Rather than presenting them with 'ready made' solu-
tions or options developed by 'experts' for them to comment upon and
evaluate.
9.8.1 Brainstorming
Brainstorming (e.g. Bolton 1979) is a technique which has been used in a
wide variety of different circumstances to generate new ideas and solve
problems. Brainstorming is a group activity in which participants are en-
couraged to come up with as many ideas as they can, including 'wild'
ideas. The 'rules' of brainstorming are that participants must not evaluate
ideas as they are generated, nor should they seek clarification. Further,
while all ideas are recorded, names are not attached to them. Participants
are encouraged to build and expand on ideas generated by others.
9.8.2 Workshops and Games
An innovative approach to participation has been developed by Mackie
and Wilcox (2003), in the form of a workshop-based game (Making the
Net Work), which can be used to plan the development of technology sys-
tems, online communities and learning materials. Workshops and games
provide informal settings, which promote and facilitate exploration in a
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