More help on targets

Make sure you’ve read the what and why and the when and how articles about targets. Here we give you a few final helpful tips:

How to approach targets

  1. Don’t set too many targets. While we want processes to be representative and inclusive, not everything can be a target. Too many questions on the registration form, and people won’t register. And too many targets make it hard to run the lottery. Choose around six targets, those that are most important for your process.

  2. Don’t expect perfection. You may hit all your targets on your first round selection - but those who drop out are usually from the demographics that are hardest to replace. Remember that this is a process that is as fair as possible, that increases the levels of participation in the community, and offers an opportunity to hear rarely heard voices. But it isn’t going to be perfect!

How to choose targets

When thinking about what questions to ask, these are things to bear in mind:

  • What targets are hard to hit? These are good ones to include. For example, we often don’t hit the target for people with secondary school education - so we often include highest level of education to get that diversity in the room.

  • Are some people more affected by this question? You might want to ensure they’re in the room, possibly in larger numbers than they are in the community. For example, if there’s a development that affects one neighbourhood more than others.

  • Is it important that some people are in the room? If the topic is hate speech, you might want people who are targetted by hate speech in the room, so you might ask for religious affiliation or sexuality, for example.

How to set targets

1. Use trusted sources. Ideally, use official census data. Where the census doesn’t cover a category (such as attitudinal questions), find the most trusted source available.

2. Justify deviations. Sometimes, you might want to over-represent a community. Be clear about why you’ve made that decision - are they disproportionately affected? Is there a historical or cultural safety reason?

3. Be transparent. Make public how targets were set, and why. Also, be clear from the start that you might not hit all the targets - participation is voluntary, so we do the best we can with the people who register.