Case studies

The People's Panel was a citizens' assembly made up of 5,000 members of the public, which aimed to act as a ‘sounding board' – providing ongoing feedback  of government policy. It was organised by the Labour Government from 1998 to 2002.

Participatory budgeting was created in Porto Alegre, a city of 1.3 million people in Brazil, in 1989.

In September 2014 NHS Citizen – a national programme giving the public a say on healthcare matters within NHS England – ran a full-scale test assembly which consisted of around 200 patients, carers, activists, volunteers, third sector and public services workers who came together to discuss agenda items chosen by citizens.

London Citizens are the contingent of Citizens UK based in London. Citizens UK describe themselves as the "home of community organising in the UK", seeing their work as democracy in action – for example, holding politicians and other decision makers to account. Mayoral Assemblies are part of this process.

Over two years this developed into an organisation called the Lochside Neighbourhood Group, made up of third sector organisations, faith groups, and both private and public sector organisations.

Through Local Area Coordination, service users stay strong, safe and connected in communities which are more welcoming, inclusive and supportive. As a result, they can find practical, non-service solutions to problems and generally avoid the use of acute front-line services which are increasingly unaffordable.

The Lambeth Living Well Collaborative was established in 2010 and is a platform of partners aiming to radically improve the outcomes experienced by people with severe and enduring mental health problems. It involves citizens, mental health service users, peer supporters, commissioners, the voluntary sector, and health and social care staff.

The strategy was produced with the help of a number of stakeholders, including public bodies, agencies, communities and citizens. Lambeth Citizens, part of Citizens UK, were hired as an integral part of the strategy's production, using their knowledge and expertise of the area to create a strategy which would be most beneficial to residents.

The first phase was limited to public sector staff, of which there were over six million. It was then opened up over a two month period to allow the rest of the public to participate in the debate.

Assembly North was a pilot citizens' assembly in South Yorkshire conducted by Democracy Matters, a group of academics from the University of Sheffield, the University of Southampton, University College London, the University of Westminster and the Electoral Reform Society.