 
DTI Citizens' Jury
Method(s) Used
Name of person who posted the project:Edward Andersson
Location of project:United Kingdom
Date when the project started:2003
Date when the project ended/project ongoing:2004
Background to project:The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for Women, Patricia Hewitt, wanted to commission a Citizens' Jury to help to develop policies that will support people juggling family and work commitments. The Office of Public Management worked with the Department of Trade and Industry to make it happen.Purpose of project:To inform the Department for Trade and Industry's policy making process.Project activities:Sixteen jurors, broadly representative of the wider population, were recruited. Witnesses came from ten organisations, including the Confederation of British Industry, Boots plc and the Equal Opportunities Commission.During the four-day jury, the jurors also requested an additional witness from Sure Start to provide information on the government's childcare agenda. The DTI asked some jurors to keep a diary of their experience and also videotaped the process - to be able to share the process with other colleagues. The diaries also showed how the mindset of the jurors shifted during the four days and provided a very personal insight into the issues being explored. For example, one juror wrote about the difficulty of juggling her own responsibilities as a mother so that she could attend the jury each day. Project results:Jurors had some scepticism about whether the jury would influence Government policy. However, its influence was evident in elements of the Chancellor's pre-budget speech at the end of 2004 - the proposed increase in maternity pay was in keeping with the thrust of the jurors' recommendations.All the jurors were enthusiastic about the process and at the end said they would be willing to be contacted by the DTI in the future to help develop policy further. Contact details:Office for Public Management252B Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8XG Telephone: 020 7239 7800 Fax: 020 7837 5800 Email: office@opm.co.uk Web: http://www.opm.co.uk 
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