Designing public deliberation at the intersection of science and public policy

An increasingly popular means of engaging the public uses small- scale deliberative forums, with anywhere from a dozen to hundreds or thousands of citizens meeting face- to- face or online to consider policy questions with important scientific dimensions. When designing such processes, policymakers and civic organizations need to consider how they recruit and retain engaged participants, how they structure the deliberative process itself, and the impacts they hope to achieve, not just for participants but also for the wider society. Although research conducted on deliberation shows the efficacy of these processes, the field will benefit from more systematic analysis of alternative deliberative methods, particularly at different points of entry within the policymaking system.