This series is co-hosted by Ceri Davies, Director of the Centre for Deliberative Research at the National Centre for Social Research and Suzanne Hall, Director of Engagement at King’s College London’s Policy Institute. This seminar will run for 45mins during lunch, with an option to stay for a further 15mins to participate in a Q&A with our guest speakers.

This series explores the theory and practice of deliberative research, its relationship to deliberative democracy and the impact it can have on citizens and policy. The seminars are designed to be informal, to provide an open space for networking and discussion over lunch, to listen and engage with likeminded professionals.

This particular session will discuss 'Deliberation for all! The opportunities and risks of building deliberative systems'.

Speakers:

Oliver Escobar

• Dr Oliver Escobar is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Edinburgh; Academic Lead on Democratic Innovation at the Edinburgh Futures Institute; and Co-director of CRITIQUE (Centre for Ethics and Critical Thought). Oliver works on participatory and deliberative democracy, with a focus on public participation, policy innovation, political inequalities and the governance of the future. He combines research and practice to develop social and democratic innovations across various policy and community contexts.

Claudia Chwalisz

• Claudia Chwalisz is an author, activist, and entrepreneur working to shift political and legislative power to everyday people. She is the Founder and CEO of DemocracyNext, an international non-profit, non-partisan research and action institute.