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.

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.

Nottinghamshire police force work with community organisers as part of their campaign for prevention and early intervention.

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.

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.

Loomio is a web application used to assist groups with a collaborative decision-making process by allowing the creation of focused topic forums with set deadlines and space for deliberation. The Welsh Assembly first used the application in 2014 as part of the Health and Social Care Committee's inquiry looking into alcohol and substance misuse in Wales.

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.

GoCA was made up of representatives from local community groups in Govanhill and was held accountable for its spend by the local community. The group was supported by Oxfam's UK Poverty Programme in Scotland, which helped facilitate the participatory budgeting process and bridged the perceived gap between public sector workers and GoCA members.

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.