How can public dialogue be improved, in the context of public views on sentencing policy? Blog by our partner Involve

Based on the Involve Public Dialogue Report

Public dialogue is often used to bring the public’s opinions and values into policymaking, including for important issues like climate action, genome testing, and how we regulate AI. But there are challenges public dialogues often face, particularly online. Dialogue’s methods can create barriers to inclusion and engage a less diverse group of people as a result. There are privacy risks from the online platforms used and deliberation is difficult to scale. 

Involve, the University of Southampton and Nethood collaborated to deliver and test potential solutions for these problems. We tested and evaluated new tools in the live context of a public dialogue exploring the public’s priorities for Sentencing Policy. 

This dialogue was designed to contribute to the Justice Select Committee’s inquiry into public perceptions of sentencing. Rebooting Online Public Dialogue evaluated how each tool helps solve these problems by looking at their impact within a dialogue, how they impact how decision makers respond to the dialogue, and how they support the public having a voice in the important issue of sentencing policy. 

The project is part of the RSA and UKRI’s programme Rethinking Public Dialogue, running from September 2022 - September 2023. The programme funded the testing of new approaches and possibilities for public dialogue. Throughout, Involve and our partners met with the other nine grantees throughout to bring together diverse perspectives and share our learning about developing creative and innovative approaches to dialogue.