https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/youre-invited-scaling-catalysts-paper-lau...
Citizens’ assemblies and other democratic innovations are spreading around the world - but they don’t spread by themselves.
Behind many successful examples sit organisations doing the often invisible work of building capacity, strengthening quality, connecting networks, and navigating relationships with power.
In a time of democratic decline - and growing attention on technology and AI as solutions - understanding this relational civic infrastructure has never been more important.
This event marks the launch of our new DemocracyNext paper, “Scaling Democratic Innovation: Features of Effective Catalyst Organisations & Future Frontiers”, by Claudia Chwalisz and Sammy McKinney.
Drawing on 22 interviews with leaders and ecosystem actors connected to nine leading deliberative democracy organisations across three continents, Claudia and Sammy identify six core features that underpin effective scaling - alongside the tensions these organisations face and five key frontiers for future practice.
What we’ll explore
- What “scaling catalysts” are and why they matter
- Why scaling deliberation is about more than technology
- The six features that support high-quality, sustainable scaling
- The challenges catalysts face (funding, independence, coordination)
- What’s needed next: technology, education, legal frameworks, community infrastructure, and public communication
Speakers
Claudia Chwalisz - Author, CEO and Founder, DemocracyNext
Sammy McKinney – Author, AI & Deliberation Fellow, DemocracyNext and PhD Candidate at University of Cambridge
Nicole Curato – Professor, University of Birmingham
Kelly McBride – Director - Capacity Building & Standards, Involve
Josh Burgess – Senior USA Advisor, DemocracyNext and Director, Central Oregon Civic Action Project (COCAP)
Moderated by:
Andrew Sorota – Head of Research, Office of Eric Schmidt
This event is for:
- Practitioners and organisations working on citizens’ assemblies and participatory governance
- Funders and philanthropists supporting democratic innovation
- Policymakers and civil servants interested in institutionalising deliberation
- Researchers and students of democracy, governance, and public participation
- Anyone interested in how deliberative democracy can scale... well!
