Healthy Democracy and Oregon’s Kitchen Table organized the first statewide citizens’ assembly in Oregon to inform the policies needed to forge a path beyond the crises engendered by COVID-19. Thirty-six randomly selected citizens took part in this online deliberative process.
Problems and Purpose
COVID-19 has been disrupting the life of individuals and communities. This situation represents a considerable challenge for public authorities due to the unpredictability and continuously evolving nature of this public health emergency and its economic ramifications. The citizens’ assembly aims to create an opportunity for citizens to come to a considered judgement on a path beyond the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis.
Background History and Context
It is the first time that a statewide citizens’ assembly has been convened in Oregon. However, Healthy Democracy has gained experience with deliberative minipublics by conducting the Citizens’ Initiative Review (CIR) and Oregon’s Kitchen Table has significant experience with online engagement.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The Citizens’ Assembly is organized by Healthy Democracy and Oregon’s Kitchen Table.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Forty Oregonians were randomly selected to reflect a microcosm of the state in terms of age, gender, place of residence, race and ethnicity, political party, education, and level of political engagement (whether the person voted in the 2016 election) [1]. Two different methods were used to select the participants. The first half were selected using a random digit dialing process done by a marketing firm. For the second half, the selection process relied on a pool of randomly selected citizens who had been contacted in the last twelve years by Healthy Democracy for the CIRs. A postcard was sent to between 700 and 800 households from that pool, inviting them to the citizens’ assembly on COVID-19. Among those who responded positively, twenty were randomly selected during a live event online in early June [2].
Methods and Tools Used
The method used was a citizens’ assembly that was held entirely online via the platform Zoom. The organizers relied on an open-source stratified selection software developed by the Sortition Foundation to select the first half of the participants. All the selected participants were compensated with a stipend of $700 and provided with internet access, laptops, and technical support if needed [3]. The participants heard from subject matter experts (Oregon Office of Economic Analysis and the Oregon Department of Education) and two state legislators. Over the course of the process, they also developed a survey run by Oregon’s Kitchen Table to supplement their deliberation [4].
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The citizens’ assembly was organized entirely online over seven two-hour sessions from July through August 2020. Although the process began with forty randomly selected citizens, some members dropped out, and the Assembly was completed with thirty-six members. The participants were instrumental in shaping the process in that they selected the main question, the focus areas, and the subject matter experts. As such, the structure was highly iterative. Before the beginning of the formal sessions, participants met online in June for an introductory social hour to meet each other, test the platform, and ask questions. The seven formal sessions were divided between plenary sessions and deliberation in randomly assigned small groups of five participants each that were moderated by professional facilitators. Except for the deliberation in small groups, the whole process was live-streamed on Healthy Democracy’s YouTube channel [5]. In addition, participants took part in several debrief sessions called Kitchen Table to discuss their experiences of the day with the same small group.
The structure of the deliberative process took the following shape [6]:
Day 1 (July 9): Introduction, review of the legislators’ questions & 1st small group discussion, review of testimony to legislative committee on COVID, presentation on cognitive bias, kitchen table.
Day 2 (July 16): Core principles, deciding the Assembly’s guiding question, deciding the Assembly’s focus areas, deciding witnesses to be called, kitchen table
Day 3 (July 23): Legislators' visit to the Assembly, witness, brainstorming on survey topics to ask fellow Oregonians, kitchen table
Day 4 (July 30): Core principles (continued), witness, deciding the final two witnesses, kitchen table
Day 5 (August 6): Legislative update and survey review, revise principles, kitchen table
Day 6 (August 13): Final core principles revisions, final witnesses on each topic, identifying potential recommendations
Day 7 (August 20): Deliberation on potential recommendations, revision of recommendations, closing & final vote
In small groups, participants were asked to brainstorm and identify their preferences for various items at hand before reporting to the whole group and voting on them. During the first session, the participants were introduced to the questions submitted by state legislators. The task was to select one question to guide their deliberation. They discussed them in small groups before proceeding to a vote. The selected question was: “What do you see as relationships between pandemic and inequalities in social/economic structures? What has been learned about that? With increased interests in racial justice – how important is that? How much do we need change now? When the pandemic is done, how important is it to pursue changes in basic systems?” The state legislator who submitted it was invited to expand on it and answer participants’ questions in the following session. The participants also decided to narrow their focus on two specific areas (education and housing), and they selected the witnesses accordingly from a list prepared by the Oregon’s Kitchen Table staff [7].
In addition to the sessions with subject matter experts, the deliberative process was supplemented by a survey on Oregonians’ lived experiences. During day 3, participants crafted survey questions in small groups to get a broader sense of how Oregonians are experiencing the COVID-19 and economic crises [8]. The objective of the survey was only to get additional feedback from the public about their lived experiences and the Assembly received around 600 answers. The participants reviewed the responses in small groups and discussed how they might impact their recommendations during session 5. They also heard about the issues and concerns discussed during a Special Session on COVID-19 at the state legislature on August 10th by the co-chair of the Joint Special Committee on Coronavirus Response [9].
Development of the final recommendations began with an initial brainstorm in small groups on Day 6. During Day 7, Participants were divided into two groups that correspond to the two focus areas to deliberate and narrow down their recommendations to three per topic area. Then, in small groups, they revised the recommendations and report them back to the two groups for final edits. The Assembly then voted on the core principles and policy recommendations during the last plenary session [10]. The final report contains the items that received the support of at least two-thirds of the participants. It was presented at a virtual press conference on August 27th, provided to interested legislators, and distributed by the networks of Healthy Democracy and Oregon’s Kitchen Table.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
References
[1] 2020 Oregon Citizen Assembly Pilot on COVID-19 Recovery, Key Project Details, https://healthydemocracy.org/ca/2020-oregon-covid/
[2] 2020 Oregon Citizen Assembly Pilot on COVID-19 Recovery, Panelist Selection Event, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNniKtzgn6s&feature=emb_title
[3] 2020 Oregon Citizen Assembly Pilot on COVID-19 Recovery, Key Project Details, https://healthydemocracy.org/ca/2020-oregon-covid/
[4] Oregon’s Kitchen Table, Your Fellow Oregonians Want to Hear from You, https://www.oregonskitchentable.org/the-latest
[5] Healthy Democracy, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3741S7Een3396QsAUEVBMw
[6] Healthy Democracy, Daily Schedule, https://healthydemocracy.org/ca/2020-oregon-covid/
[7] Citizen Assembly Schedule, Day 2, https://healthydemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020-Oregon-Citizen-Assembly-Day-2-schedule.pdf
[8] Oregon’s Kitchen Table, Your Fellow Oregonians Want to Hear from You, https://www.oregonskitchentable.org/the-latest
[9] 2020 Oregon Citizen Assembly Pilot on COVID-19 Recovery, Highlights of Assembly Deliberations, https://healthydemocracy.org/ca/2020-oregon-covid/
[10] Citizen Assembly Schedule, Day 7, https://healthydemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020-Oregon-Citizen-Assembly-Day-7-schedule.pdf
External Links
Healthy Democracy YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3741S7Een3396QsAUEVBMw
Notes
This entry was written in collaboration with Wendy Willis, the executive director of Oregon’s Kitchen Table.