Targets - what and why

We use targets to ensure that the people who are selected in a democratic lottery are representative of the population from which they are drawn, and that the set of selected people is inclusive of all key groups.

Targets for what?

Targets are typically of two types: demographic and attitudinal.

In the UK we nearly always set demographic targets pertaining to gender, age and ethnicity. We frequently also set demographic targets pertaining to disability, educational attainment and geographical location.

Attitudinal targets will typically depend on the topic being discussed in the citizens’ assembly. For instance, for a climate assembly we may set targets around “level of climate concern” – this ensures that the assembly members begin their deliberations with a wide range of starting viewpoints.

Why are we doing this?

Targets are used to increase the perceived legitimacy of the democratic lottery, and the associated citizens’ assembly. We want people in the wider population to have confidence that the citizens’ assembly is a fair process that will be able to make good decisions on their behalf.

The two principles of representativeness and inclusiveness are seen as key to bolstering this confidence and thereby enhancing legitimacy:

Representativeness is key because it gives people the feeling that “there is someone like me” in the assembly. They can have a sense that their feelings on the subject have a good chance of being represented in discussions.

Inclusiveness speaks to a similar sense, specifically for people on the margins of society who might be excluded from other decision making processes. It also points to the fact that the assembly’s discussions are likely to be richer and more fruitful if they ensure that a wide range of life experience is included in the room.

A useful thought experiment

If you are organising a citizens’ assembly it is helpful to try and anticipate why people in the wider public might doubt the legitimacy of what you are doing. For instance, maybe an assembly on climate will be criticised for being biased towards people who care about the environment.

One way to address this concern would be to ensure that you have used a target for “level of climate concern” as part of your democratic lottery. This can be used to ensure that the people who make up the assembly are not all of one mind.

Using targets in this way is not sufficient to ensure legitimacy – there are many other things affecting an assembly’s deliberations, including choice of experts, quality of facilitation and so on – but they can certainly help.