A new Guide on Deliberative Engagement – part of a series of Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments created by the International Parliament Engagement Network in partnership with INTER PARES – has been published.
Deliberative methods are increasingly a source of inspiration for those who seek to redress the global trend of deepening dissatisfaction in democracy.
Such methods offer parliaments the opportunity to engage citizens in rigorous in-depth consideration of complex policy problems and through this potentially enhance their own deliberations and democratic wellbeing overall.
Deliberative methods are not yet widespread among parliaments, but there are several contexts where experiments are settling into institutionalized models.
In this guide, we explore the different ways in which deliberative democracy can be applied in and by parliaments as another tool in the citizen engagement toolbox.
Read the Guide on Deliberative Engagement.
About the series
Published in August and launched on 14 October 2025, the Guide on Deliberative Engagement is the sixth in a new eight part series focusing on a range of public engagement topics to help build parliaments’ capacity to engage members of the public in their work.
The series is being created through a project collaboration between the International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN) and INTER PARES. The Guides are produced with the financial support of the European Union as part of the INTER PARES I Parliaments in Partnership project, implemented by International IDEA.
The Guides have been developed by Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds and Chair of IPEN) and Juliet Ollard, (Senior Research and Engagement Officer, IPEN) in partnership with INTER PARES.
The project team have drawn from extensive academic research and parliamentary practice from across the world – including many interviews with parliamentary officials and academics, and the expert advice of our International Advisory Group and the IPEN Executive Team.
Two more Guides will be launched over the coming months.
Image created by Research Retold