We The Citizens: Final Report

An experiment to ignite citizen involvement in democracy in Ireland found striking shifts in how participants feel about their ability to influence politics, according to a report by We the Citizens. A pilot project tested whether a more participatory form of democracy could work in Ireland at a time when people felt adrift and disconnected from power. In the project, a representative group of citizens were randomly chosen to attend a Citizens’ Assembly in June 2011.  After the assembly, participants showed a greater interest in politics, expressed more willingness to discuss and become involved in politics, and felt more positive about the ability of ordinary people to influence politics.

We The Citizens received funding from Atlantic through a grant to the University College Dublin Foundation.