People are frustrated that politics is not working for them. And in many ways, it’s not.
Most people don’t have enough say in the decisions that affect their lives. Existing power structures mean that some groups of people have less influence than others. Decision makers struggle to get things done. And many people’s trust in politics is low.
Our current political system concentrates power in the hands of a few, and leaves many feeling powerless. This can apply to the biggest global issues, right through to local decisions. Far too often, people feel decisions are made without their input.
This system does not connect decision makers and the public well. It relies heavily on elections to understand the “will of the people'' and transmit their policy preferences into action. However, elections provide very poor information about public preferences on the details of issues - often, politicians can’t be sure what truly represents the “public will”.
Who are we?
We’re the UK’s leading public participation charity. We want to build a more vibrant democracy, where everyone can shape a society that works for all of us.
Since 2003, we have been working with governments, parliaments, civil society, academics and members of the public to create, advocate for and deliver new forms of public participation that re-vitalise democracy, improve decision making, and enable people to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
We are realistic about the challenges faced by democracy, but optimistic about how to overcome them. We are committed to ensuring our democracies are vibrant and fit for the future by putting people at the heart of decision making.
We work across the UK and internationally, with offices in Belfast and London. Many of our staff work from home across the UK or in a hybrid pattern, rather than being based at one of our offices, and we meet up regularly as a team.
Have a look at our projects, the resources we’ve got to support you and our current thinking.
You can also meet our team and see who we work with. Make sure you keep in touch with us and sign up for our newsletter.
We believe that decision making in the UK needs to be more:
- Open - so that people can understand, influence and hold decision-makers to account for the actions and inactions of their governments;
- Participatory - so that people have the freedom, support and opportunity to shape their communities and influence the decisions that affect their lives; and,
- Deliberative - so that people can exchange and acknowledge different perspectives, understand conflict and find common ground, and build a shared vision for society.
There are a huge number of democratic innovations—from citizens’ assemblies to crowdlaw, citizens’ initiatives to co-production—that put people at the heart of decision-making by modelling these values.
At Involve, we believe these democratic innovations can…
Shift power to people on the issues that affect their lives
From citizens’ juries to online crowdsourcing, there are a huge number of ways that people can be involved in the decisions that affect them, their families and their communities. A democracy with openness, participation and deliberation at its heart would use these tools to ensure that decisions are rooted in the views and values of the public. This would create public services responsive to people’s needs and making the most of their strengths. It would ensure that political power is more evenly distributed throughout society.
Participatory and deliberative democracy makes a powerful counterpart to representative democracy - but isn’t a replacement. Most citizens respect the role of decision-makers and most decision-makers want a better relationship with citizens. A democracy with openness, participation and deliberation at its heart would enable constructive and ongoing dialogue, ensuring that the public understands the constraints of decision-makers and the trade-offs that must be made. And it would mean decision-makers understand people’s views and values.
Bring people together to solve our most complex and challenging issues
People can cope with complex and challenging issues if they are trusted. In fact, involving the public is often the best – and only – way to overcome political stalemate and solve the most controversial and challenging topics. Leveraging the power and common sense of ordinary people helps improve difficult decisions, decide on trade-offs, and organise collective action to address the complex challenges that we face.
Help people find common ground with others and end polarisation
Dialogue is essential for bridging divides between communities and building a strong, cohesive and prosperous society. When people come face-to-face and are given the opportunity to work together on a shared task, they build understanding and trust and often find they agree on many more things than they disagree. A democracy with openness, participation and deliberation at its heart would enable us to understand different perspectives, negotiate our differences and build a shared vision for society.
How are we doing this?
Our mission is to develop, support and campaign for new ways of involving people in the decisions that affect their lives.
We have six objectives guiding our work in creating healthier more vibrant democracies and achieving long term political and democratic reform:
- Democratic norms – Participation and deliberation are recognised as essential features for a healthy modern democracy by the public, society and decision-makers;
- Political support – People in positions of power and influence across society and the political spectrum understand and actively support the use of participatory and deliberative decision-making;
- Frequent use – There is frequent use of participatory and deliberative processes supported by the right resources (people, budgets) both inside and outside of political institutions;
- Evidence and practice – There is an accessible and well-communicated body of evidence and practice that demonstrates the impact of our vision and how to achieve it;
- Clear standards – There are clear principles and standards that support good practice in delivering and embedding participatory and deliberative processes, which are widely understood and followed;
- Democratic innovations – There is continuous learning and innovation to improve democracy and related practice.
In order to achieve this, our work is focused around three core areas:
- Making the case – demonstrating why participation and deliberation are essential features for a healthy modern democracy, and ensuring that those in positions of power and influence understand and support their use in addressing some of the UK’s most intractable issues. Check out our latest thinking.
- Embedding change – building the capacity of public servants and practitioners, and developing the body of evidence, principles and standards that support participatory and deliberative practice. Check out our resources.
- Pioneering practice – encouraging widespread uptake of participatory and deliberative processes, and promoting continuous learning and innovation to improve democracy and deliver lasting solutions in key policy areas. Check out our practical projects.