One cycle of the Citizen Dialogue consists in 4 steps:
What? Once a year, the Citizen Council launches a call for citizens to submit proposals for topics to be discussed by the Citizen Assembly. Amongst the proposed topics, the Council determines the one to be addressed by the next Assembly.
When? The Citizen Council launches a call every year in spring.
What? As soon as the discussion topic is known, a Citizen Assembly is organized. The group, consisting of about 30 citizens selected at random, needs to first get informed about the topic. Then, it debates the topic and, finally, the Citizen Assembly formulates policy recommendations. Discussions are led by a professional facilitator.
When? Every year a new Citizen Assembly is organized. The meetings usually take place in autumn.
What? In a Parliament public committee session, the adopted policy recommendations are presented to politicians by representatives of the Citizen Assembly. A few weeks later, in another public session, politicians present an opinion on the possible implementation of these recommendations.
When? Both public committee sessions usually take place at the beginning of the year.
What? One year on, it is time for evaluation: In another public committee session, the members of the Citizen Assembly get informed about the implementation of their recommendations. Until then, the Citizen Council monitors the implementation of the Citizen Assembly’s policy recommendations.
When? The third public committee session usually takes place in spring.
The Citizen Council coordinates the whole process. It prepares, organizes and follows-up the Citizen Assemblies and monitors the implementation of the policy recommendations.