Where are we now and what next for online deliberative methods?
Event
Event
Webinar: Taking Deliberations Online
As part of the City-ESS-NatCen methodology series, this webinar explored some of the benefits and limitations of taking deliberations online.
As part of our survey methodology seminar series - organised with City, University of London and NatCen Social Research - a webinar was held on Thursday 27 May 2021.
Event Series: City, University of London - European Social Survey HQ - NatCen Social Research survey methodology seminar series.
In the last decade or so, studies into deliberation and the internet have grown in quantity, with interest in the potential this might hold to address some of the limitations of face to face approaches, not least issues of scale, cost and inclusion.
Much of this work has been based on internet discussion forums and the use of videoconferencing as a mode for online deliberation had, until 12 months ago at least, remained largely unexplored. In the context of the covid-19 pandemic, finding ways to maintain deliberative processes whilst socially distant has accelerated; but not with a great deal of detailed methodological scrutiny.
This webinar explored some of the benefits and limitations of taking deliberations online and the recent received best practice in the practical aspects of what enables or constrains people’s participation.
It sketched out some of the areas that would benefit from further methodological development including the extent to which online approaches can demonstrate that effective conditions for deliberation can be achieved this way.
Recent projects were drawn on to illustrate these considerations, including ESRC funded Future of Britain research.
This work has used Deliberative Polling with over 380 members of the public to explore what they want to see happen post-Brexit in a number of policy areas hitherto subject to EU regulation.
Speakers
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Ceri DaviesDirector of the Centre for Deliberative Research National Centre for Social Search
Ceri is interested in how the public has a voice in the decisions that shape their lives – be that through democratic means, in policy development, understanding the implications of science and technology and influencing or contributing to the questions that researchers ask.
She has been working at the intersection of evidence and practice in public participation for over 15 years, through roles in community development, in social research and on not-for-profit boards. The creation and her leadership of the Centre for Deliberative Research continues this general theme – with a focus on bringing social science rigour to deliberation and dialogue as ways to explore public attitudes, contribute to policy making and influence research practice.
The Centre's current work tackles large scale societal issues, such as Brexit, the environment and health inequalities and provides opportunities to facilitate complex conversations with individuals of differing opinions to inform a research or policy outcome, from local to national scale.
With a background in academia and civil society, Ceri previously led the University of Brighton’s Community Knowledge Exchange (2008-2018) and completed her doctorate exploring knowledge and power in participatory research on issues of social justice. She is a Trustee of Sussex Nightstop (a small charity developing community-based responses to homelessness) and an associate editor of Research For All.