4. Community Assemblies

Community Assemblies are a structured and democratic way for a group of people to share ideas and feelings, discuss problems and generate solutions collectively. Assemblies are organised in such a way as to ensure that no one person dominates, and that all voices are heard and valued equally. They promote active listening, inclusivity and trust.

Overview

Why use community assemblies?

Assemblies build community by enabling communication and collaboration across cultural, economic and political divides. Their inclusive and structured nature creates a safe space in which people can share their perspectives and ideas. This not only enables people to better understand others and their needs, it also creates a fertile space for problem solving and collective decision making.

As democratic processes, assemblies also help promote and build democracy. Their structure, which values all voices equally and champions collective decision making, gives those who participate a direct experience of a functional and inclusive democracy. They offer a clear and hopeful alternative to the established way of doing things and the hierarchical, dominant and exclusive cultures that permeate our politics, workplaces and social lives. When used effectively, they can help communities develop as self-organising, self-directing and self-managing bodies, which make decisions democratically and work for the advancement of the collective.

People’s assemblies are also incredibly powerful tools for personal empowerment and bonding with others. Being actively listened to is a transformative experience and helps people realise that their words and ideas matter, whilst meeting with strangers and sharing feelings helps to build trust and to establish genuine emotional connections.

Community Assembly Manual

How to Organise and Run Assemblies in Your Community

‘Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it’ - Goethe

The past year has shown us that waiting for top-down democratic change is not enough, we need to proactively build the system we want to see, a system based on grassroots, community-level democracy: a politics for and by the people. But to do this, we need to create spaces in which we can share ideas, listen to each other and grow together. This is where people’s assemblies come in.

First and foremost, people’s assemblies are democratic exercises that allow people to share thoughts and feelings, discuss problems and generate solutions in a highly structured way. The structure facilitates participation and inclusion, and gives people a voice – everyone is listened to and everybody listens. People’s assemblies thus work to build trust, community and connection, whilst facilitating participatory and deliberative democracy.

This manual outlines the various steps that you can take to run a people’s assembly in your local community. It has been created by people in XR’s Future Democracy Hub, however, it is not their work alone. This manual collates best practice from the people throughout history and from all over the globe, who have used People's Assemblies to come together and achieve great things.

Background on People’s Assemblies

People's assemblies are 'self selected' meaning that anyone can choose to take part. They are not to be confused with citizens’ assemblies, which are composed of people randomly selected from the population by the process of sortition to make sure they are representative of society (for CAs, key characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, education level and geography are taken into consideration). Citizens’ assembly members are selected to make a decision on a specific topic, before making a decision they would learn about critical thinking and hear balanced information from experts and stakeholders. They would then spend time deliberating in small facilitated groups, similar to the break-out groups used in People’s Assemblies.

People’s assemblies have been used throughout history and all over the world as a means to enable people to come together and achieve real social change, and shape a society for the good of all:

The Three Pillars

A people’s assembly differs from debate where one person is 'right' and the other is 'wrong', and from the typical discussion or conversation where people have a tendency to dominate with questions and interjections. People’s assemblies create a space in which each participant is respected and listened to without judgement, whilst sharing from the heart, and in which each participant listens to the ideas of others.The three key elements of people’s assemblies (often referred to as ‘the three pillars’), which support this supportive and empathetic interaction are radical inclusivity, active listening and trust.

Radical Inclusivity

Effective assemblies achieve radical inclusivity, where the emphasis on all being heard and valued equally means no voices dominate and the collective wisdom of the assembly is harnessed. People can participate safely and openly without fear of judgement or ridicule. At its heart, radical inclusivity is a practical step, which enables the widening of a movement by providing agency to all who participate.

Radical Inclusivity, therefore, also means being aware of potential barriers to engagement and working those affected to enable their participation. It is important to think about disabled access, sign language, whisper interpretation for those for whom English isn’t their first language, and other possible means by which barriers can be removed. When planning for and holding an assembly, ask if there are any barriers to engagement that need to be identified and then work together to find ways to remove them.

“Diversity in opinion will pay you back in the long run socially… if we don’t fix this problem to start with we are simply going to replicate existing power structures.” Eleanor Saitta, hacker and designer.

Active Listening

Active listening is focusing on hearing someone all the way through before developing your responses, and overcoming the urge to start mapping out your response in your mind whilst someone is still talking. Assemblies are not an arena for intellectual jousting or point scoring; they are spaces which recognise that no one person or group holds all the answers, and that it is through the wisdom of the crowds that we gain powerful intelligence about the issues being discussed. Active listening is also vital as it enhances our capacity to empathise: When we fully listen to others, we gain more of an understanding of people, their views and their concerns.

“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” Aristotle

Trust

Once the system and process for people’s assemblies has been agreed on, it is essential that all participants trust the process, trust the facilitators and trust the various working groups involved. It is essential that the facilitators and assembly team enable this trust through sticking to the agreed process and ensuring that everyone follows the facilitators. It is not meant to be a perfect system and can only be effective if people trust that those involved have come together in humility, to work towards decisions and actions that are best for all.

“I see the 15M assemblies and neighbourhood organising in retrospective and I'm amazed how it could work and most importantly all the trust that it meant.” Carolina, a founder of 15M and www.takethesquare.net

A Note on Capacity

Everything in this manual requires a time and energy commitment. Evaluate your resources and choose the paths and practices that work for you, and that can be maintained in the longer term. Many great community endeavours fail due to a disparity between the time and energy resources available over time, and the ambition of the activities initiated – you need to be able to maintain the activities, after they have been initiated, and following through with any commitments made. It is helpful if all of the roles are backed up by at least one other person, so that people can take breaks as and when they are needed. Create a model that works for your own resources and needs, and evaluate it regularly to check that it is still maintainable.

To learn more about sustainable community development, take a look at Nurture Development’s information on Asset Based Community Development.

Creating a Team

‘I can’t change the world on my own, it’ll take at least three of us’ - Bill Mollison.

You may start with a tiny group of interested folk who want to bring a deeper sense of democracy and connection to their community, or you may have a whole room full of people ready to take on roles. The working groups listed here are suggestions for getting started and form the basic team for bringing a community together in assembly. You may have three people covering the whole thing or a large team making up each group. The important thing is to select your approach based on the capacity of those involved, whilst creating and maintaining a pathway for bringing new people into the project.

Team Working Groups
Connecting with the Community

Before you attempt to bring a community together in Assembly you need to actually familiarise yourself with that community. Who makes up the community in question? Where are they? Who are the obvious future participants? Who are the less obvious ones? Which communities are hidden to you? Where are the community connections that already exist happening? Are those connections deliberate or organic/cultural? Who are the influencers, or the stakeholders, or the ‘Elders’ within this community?

This initial engagement is a vital part of the process of creating community assemblies, and shouldn’t be rushed or overlooked. It’s also important to remember that whilst we are connecting with the community we need to connect with ourselves as well. We need to ask ourselves what assumptions we carry about the community we are trying to reach. What fears or blocks might we carry that may be consciously or unconsciously acting on our ability to effectively connect and listen? We must challenge our own blind spots and prejudices at every opportunity, and continue to do so throughout the process.

It is also vital to develop active listening skills, so that when you are engaging with others in your community, you are taking time to understand them, their needs and their wants, rather than trying to push your own agenda. Properly listening to someone lays the foundations for empathy, understanding and trust, and creates the opportunity to learn from others.

To help you better connect with your community, take a look at the following modules in the Community Transformer Program:

To help boost your ability to connect with those in your community, consider the following:

Much of the promotion section below can also be integrated as part of the Connecting with Your Community phase even if you do not have an upcoming assembly to promote.

Preparing to Hold an Assembly

Assembling

So, you’ve hung out within the community. You’ve met with people on their own turf and on their own terms. You’ve identified different demographics within the community and how to effectively deliver information about the assembly to them. Now, you need to create a space to bring everyone together in a well facilitated conversation. In short, you need to assemble. There are several ways to do this, but we recommend doing so using a people’s assembly (though other methods you may want to consider are Open Space Technology or Goldfish Bowl). Although this manual focuses on the people’s assembly process, almost all of the information around framing, promoting and organising an assembly is applicable to any other appropriate model.

Framing, Scope and Process

The exact framing, scope and process for the assembly needs to be agreed upon before any promotional work can occur. The destination and legitimacy of the results of the assembly should be discussed and decided upon prior to convening the assembly, and it is important that all assembly participants are made aware of this information before the assembly begins.

An Assembly for Sharing and Community Building

If, for example, you are planning to host an assembly designed to bring community members together to discuss issues that are important to them in the spirit of creating community bonds and finding common ground, then the framing, scope and process are as follows:

An Assembly for Discussing a Specific Topic and Generating Ideas

If you are convening an assembly which focuses on specific issues and where what is discussed will be shared beyond the local community with an external body, such as a council, then the scope would be broader. Say, for example, a local sustainability group advertises an open assembly on their facebook page and social media channels to discuss how the local council can act after declaring a Climate and Ecological Emergency, then the framing, scope and process would be as follows:

An Assembly for Making Decisions and Proposals

Assemblies can also be convened to ask for the opinions of members of a group and to make decisions. Say, for example, a local group calls an assembly to discuss whether they join with a larger group for a day of action or create their own one locally, and they advertise it to all members through every channel of communication, then the framing, scope and process are as follows:

What to Discuss

Bringing people together around a common cause is more likely to generate enthusiasm and engagement than initiatives centred around issues identified as a priority by the local authority, or abstract debates to identify shared values and visions. Find out what people care about or want to change in their local community, and use that as a starting point for discussion.

You may have gathered a good sense of this through your community engagement practices, or you may want to hold your first assembly as an invitation to the community to hear people’s concerns and priorities.

Simple online digital democracy tools like Your Priorities can be used to allow people to choose or suggest subjects for assemblies, as well as to continue community discussion and to help priortise ideas. Whenever you use digital tools you must always consider inclusivity issues around the digital divide and make steps to ensure those in the community not able to access information digitally are still able to take part in those conversations.

An assembly agenda could include:

Proposals
Decision Making

When a temperature check is used to decide between two or more options and there is no clear decision then the assembly will need to decide how to proceed. It may be a case of taking an actual counted vote, or returning the options to the breakout groups to find a solution that can accommodate the points raised or the differing wishes.

Promotion

The more actively engaged you are with your local community, the more engagement you will create. That said all promotion and engagement activities require time and energy. The following suggested means of promotion are, therefore, ordered in terms of capacity, so that you can try methods that fit in with your schedule.

Low Capacity

Medium Capacity

High Capacity

Remember, you will create a far more genuine connection to the local community by going to them than by expecting them to come to you.

Assembly Planning

This is a framework for organising an open public assembly. This is essentially a ‘best practice’ scenario and many assemblies will be created without this level of input or forward planning. Assemblies can often be convened as part of a talk, larger event, or meetings, in which case you can pick through the planning process detailed here and see which elements apply, or jump straight in using the ‘Quick Start Guide’.

Choose the venue

In-depth Plan with Timings

One Month To Go:

Two Weeks to Go:

One Week to Go:

One Day to Go:

One Hour to Go:

During the Assembly:

After the Assembly:

People’s Assemblies - a Quick Start guide!

This is the basic framework for creating and running a People’s Assembly. This ‘Quick Start Guide’ is essentially all you need to run an assembly. If you are running an assembly it is suggested that you read through the entire manual first, but if you are in an emergency democracy situation, you can just jump straight in here!

If you would like the process broken down into more detail, please use a script. We have versions for both online assemblies and in-person assemblies.

Hand Signals

Assemblies maintain inclusivity and ensure all voices are heard equally by using hand signals to facilitate the discussion. Using hand signals helps people to take it in turns to speak, and allows others to finish what they are saying without being spoken over or interrupted, as so often happens in daily conversation.

Point (or ‘I would like to speak’):
When someone in the group wants to say something, they should point their index finger up and wait for the facilitator to let them have their turn in speaking. It is vital that people do not talk over anyone else and wait for their turn. If someone, who has not yet said anything, puts their finger up to speak, whilst others have spoken a lot, then the facilitator should give that person priority over the 'stack' (the queue or order of speakers based on the order they raised their finger to speak).

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can type STACK in the chat or use the raised hand in the participants’ panel, or say ‘stack’ for their name to be stacked.

Wavy Hands (I Agree):
The 'wavy hands' signal of approval is used to show agreement or support for something someone has said. It instantly indicates how much consensus there is towards something and can highlight how popular an idea is. If everybody erupts into a forest of waving hands during a breakout session, for example, the note taker can see that this is one of the more popular points made and it will become one of the key bullet points fed back to the main meeting room.

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can use the ‘clapping hands’ icon under ‘more’ in the participants’ panel, or write ‘AGREE’ in the chat.

Clarification:
If someone says something that is unclear, people can hold their hand in a ‘C’ shape as the 'clarification' signal. The facilitator will then pause the discussion giving the person who made the signal the opportunity to ask a question to clear up any confusion. This signal should be given priority above all others as it means that someone does not understand something and it may thus inhibit their ability to engage in the discussion.

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can write ‘Clarification’ in the chat, or unmute and say ‘Clarification and their name’.

Direct Point:
If someone has directly relevant information to what is being said, then they can make the 'direct point' hand signal and the facilitator will let them provide that information immediately after the person speaking has finished. Think of the direct point hand signal as being like brackets, which are used to add critical information that a speaker is not aware of e.g. “the action has now been changed to Wednesday”. The direct point signal is not an excuse to jump the queue just to make a point. It is important that people do not abuse this signal as otherwise it can make all present lose trust in the process.

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can write Direct Point or DP in the chat, or unmute and say ‘Direct Point’ and their name.

Technical point:
If someone has information that is immediately relevant to the running of the meeting, they make a 'technical point' signal by making a ‘T’ shape with their hands. This is only to be used for concerns external to the discussion that need to be addressed immediately e.g. “We only have ten minutes left” or “I am the note taker and I need the loo so can someone else take over?” The facilitator should stop the discussion to address the technical point.

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can write Technical Point or TP in the chat, or unmute and say ‘Technical Point’ and their name.

Round Up:
Facilitators need to ensure that no one speaks for more than necessary (two minutes is a suggested maximum amount of time as it encourages people to be concise). If someone has been speaking for two minutes (or whatever the set amount of time is), the facilitator makes the ‘round up’ hand signal by repeatedly making a circular motion with their hands (as if they a tracing a ball). This must be done sensitively, but firmly as it ensures that no one person dominates the meeting.

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can use the ‘time’ icon under ‘more’ in the participants panel.

Speak up:
If someone is speaking too quietly or they cannot be heard, others can ask them to raise their voice by raising and lowering their hands with palms open and facing up.

Online consideration: If people do not have their video turned on, they can write ‘Speak Up’ in the chat, or unmute and say ‘speak up’ or use the ‘thumbs up’ icon in the participants panel. If using this second option you will need to explain to the whole assembly what the thumbs up icon means so they know to increase their volume if speaking.

Temperature check:
Jiggle the fingers on the palms of both hands at a level that corresponds with feelings. If hands are pointed upwards and jiggled, this suggests support. If they are held horizontally, this suggests people are ambivalent, and if they are pointed downwards, then this suggests that people do not support something. A temperature check can be used to quickly check the feelings of the group.

Roles

Each assembly needs:

Each breakout group needs:

Structure

There are three main phases of people’s assembly, these are the input phase, the deliberation phase and the integration/feedback phase.

Input Phase

Introduction

“We value all voices equally in the assembly, as the aim is to hear the wisdom of the crowd gathered here and not to have the assembly dominated by individual voices or groups. We recognise that confident speakers are not always right and that those who are not confident speakers will often have the most useful ideas or opinions to put into the discussion. This is why we value all voices equally and we ask you to do the same. We do not tolerate any calling out, abuse or shaming and should conflicts arise in this way, there are conflict resolution tools you can use to resolve them. We welcome all people but not all behaviours.”

Input

The Topic

Testify

Deliberation Phase

Main Deliberation

Breakout Groups

Integration Phase

Feeding Back

Finishing Up

What Next?

After holding a community assembly, it is really important to think about what next? What will be done with the ideas and information discussed? This takes you to community organising. To learn about different ways to organise as a community, about the different tools in existence and about what others around the world have done, check out the Community Organising module.

Rebels’ User Guide For Zoom

New Zoom account on a computer/laptop:

New Zoom account on a tablet or phone (individual rebels)

Join Zoom meeting with link:

The person or group who is ‘hosting’ the meeting has sent you an invitation with a link that looks similar to this: https://zoom.us/j/173621927 You just have to click on that link and it should start Zoom and take you to the meeting.

Depending on how you log in to Zoom, you may be asked for a Meeting ID if the invitation link doesn’t take you straight to the meeting. In this case, the Meeting ID is the number at the end of the invitation link. So if you have been given https://zoom.us/j/173621927 then the meeting ID is 173-621-927.

💡 TIP: If you do not have a very good connection and the sound is breaking up, turning off your video may help.

Guidance and tips for participation:

Using Meeting Controls

Larger zoom meetings might make use of Meeting Controls to ask yes or no questions or for participants to raise their hands digitally (rather than using a finger as in our normal meetings).

To access the Meeting Controls, you will first have to go to the Participants view. Below the list of participants’ names, you will see the controls shown below, which are fairly self-explanatory. Please note that not all meeting facilitators are aware of these controls and they may not be monitoring them, so don’t use them unless directed to by the facilitator.

We wish you happy Zooming!!

This guidance will be continuously updated as rebels give us feedback on it. Please send your questions and ideas to suzanne.savage@protonmail.com

Privacy and Zoom

Please note Zoom is in no way affiliated with Extinction Rebellion and has relatively weak privacy and security protections in place.

When you sign up you are providing your personal data to a 3rd party which may use your information for marketing purposes or hand over information to the government when pressured.

Extinction Rebellion hosts its own more secure systems for Online Meetings with an Open Source solution using Jitsi. This is hosted using 100% renewable energy on a secure server hosted in Switzerland, unlike Zooms setup. If the information being shared is secret or you are uncomfortable handing over your information to a 3rd party please consider using XR’s installation of this here/ Zoom’s platform should be considered insecure.

For support using this system please contact tech@rebellion.earth

Online Community Assembly

Important Things to Consider

Before you attempt to facilitate a People’s Assembly, please make sure you have at least attended one! But remember: it’s not rocket science. Give it a go! You’ll be great!

This script is just a starting point. As you do more, you’ll figure out your own way of saying what’s here. Don’t feel that this is the only way in which a People’s Assembly can be facilitated, although this method is based on many years of experience in PA’s by people from all over the World.

Other things to note:

Logistical Advice for Hosting Assemblies Online

For an online PA, it can be good to have 3 facilitators: 2 Assembly Facilitators, one of whom might also be the Assembly Note-taker. It is also helpful to have a Technical Facilitator, someone who manages the breakout rooms and muting people, but it isn't necessary and it isn't difficult.

BEFORE THE MEETING, SET ZOOM UP:
  1. Participants video: Start meetings with participant video on. Participants can change this during the meeting.

Mute participants upon entry Automatically mute all participants when they join the meeting. The host controls whether participants can unmute themselves.

  1. Chat: Allow meeting participants to send a message visible to all participants.

  2. Auto saving chats: If you wish to capture the chat, maybe as a way to get people to leave their emails for follow up etc, you can automatically save all in-meeting chats so that hosts do not need to manually save the text of the chat after the meeting starts.

  3. Co-host: Allow the host to add co-hosts. Co-hosts have the same in-meeting controls as the host. A technical facilitator managing breakout rooms will need to make the other facilitator co-hosts.

  4. Nonverbal feedback: Participants in a meeting can provide nonverbal feedback and express opinions by clicking on icons in the Participants panel.

  5. Breakout room: Allows the host to split meeting participants into separate, smaller rooms. For information on how to set them up, check the breakout room - technical advice section of the script below.

  6. Share screen: In the host controls, click the arrow next to Share Screen and click Advanced Sharing Options. Under “Who can share”; choose “Only Host.” If needed, this can be changed back to allowing others to screen share

Input Phase

FACILITATOR 1: Introduction

Welcome everyone and run through the use of the tech:

Facilitators introduce themselves, perhaps say a little of your background and experience with PA’s and Community Organising or Projects - Brief but inspiring!

Explain that People’s Assemblies have three ‘phases’:

Input Phase

During the input phase, we explain the process and structure of the assembly, we introduce the hand signals, and frame the focus of the assembly, as well as what will happen with the outcomes from the assembly.

(If you are having more input here than just presenting the topic for discussion, such as speakers, video etc you will explain that here too)

Deliberation Phase

During the Deliberation (discussion) phase, you will be placed in small groups for [insert chosen length of deliberation phase] minutes and discuss the question/topic of this assembly.

Integration Phase

At the end of the Deliberation phase, the groups will come back into the full assembly and feedback what was generated in their small discussion group.

Facilitator 2: Hand Signals

(Demonstrate the hand signals used in assembly to allow people to use them during the introduction and input phase of the assembly.)

We use hand signals to facilitate a discussion in which all voices get heard, no one dominates and we don’t speak over each other. We will outline the hand signals you will need to take part today. Don’t worry if you can’t remember them as they will be repeated later in the session.

(Hand signals rely on visuals, so be sure to explain possible on line alternatives to some of the hand signals, in case if anyone present doesn’t have a video, or has to turn their video off due to poor connection.)

HAND SIGNALS

(As you verbally outline the hand signals, physically show them to ensure people fully understand them).

FACILITATOR 1: Introduce the concept of a People’s Assembly

What is a People’s Assembly?

A people’s assembly is a structured way for a group of people to discuss issues, generate ideas and/or make decisions collectively in a manner in which all voices are heard and valued equally and no one person, or group, is able to dominate the process.

People's assemblies are 'self selected' meaning that anyone can choose to take part. They are not to be confused with Citizens Assemblies which are randomly selected from the population by the process of Sortition, to make sure it is representative in terms of key characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, education level and geography. Citizens’ Assembly members would learn about critical thinking before they hear balanced information from experts and stakeholders. They would then spend time deliberating in small facilitated groups, similar to the break-out groups we’re going to use in this People’s Assembly.

People’s Assemblies have been used throughout history and all over the world as a means to enable people to come together and achieve real social change:

In Ancient Athens, for example, a people’s assembly known as the ekklesia, which was open to all male citizens regardless of class, was where major decisions such as going to war, military strategy and the election of public officials were made.

More recently, in Rojava, Kurdistan, people’s assemblies have been at the centre of a democratic revolution. Decisions are made by the community, and the role of the elected representatives is simply to carry out these decisions. The community itself is the seat of power.

In Spain, the Spanish municipalist movement, known as the Indignados or 15-M movement, used PAs to discuss and protest against the government’s austerity policies. At the movement’s peak, 80 assemblies were being held each week alone in Madrid.

In 2014 the Y’en a Marre movement in Senegal helped oust the incumbent and corrupt President by mobilising the youth vote using people’s assemblies and hip-hop.

Closer to home there are the examples of Frome, Torridge and others, all of which are councils that have been reclaimed to some degree by residents in local elections. When councils are run by residents we see decisions get made that prioritise the needs of that community. To give a couple of brief examples, Frome has a Library of Things. This came from a small start up grant of £9000, which enabled over 300 things such as power tools, musical instruments, to be gathered for the whole community to borrow for a small fee. They also repurposed derelict buildings, solar panels sprung up everywhere, a local NHS initiative to prescribe volunteering plus the councils investment in civic and volunteer groups, this led to a 22% reduction in A&E attendances.

Inclusivity Statement:

Before we start a People’s Assembly, we like to read out this inclusivity statement:

“We value all voices equally in the assembly, as the aim is to hear the wisdom of the crowd gathered here and not to have the assembly dominated by individual voices or groups. We recognise that confident speakers are not always right and that those who are not confident speakers will often have the most useful ideas or opinions to put into the discussion. This is why we value all voices equally and we ask you to do the same. We do not tolerate any calling out, abuse or shaming. We welcome all people but not all behaviours.”

We want to hear your voice, if you want to speak, no matter what. Whatever age you are, wherever you are from and whatever you do.

The whole process will take about an hour and a half*, and we’d love you to stay for the whole of that, but feel free to go or come as you like or need.

(If you have the time, it’s good to do a TESTIFY at this point. It’ll add about 15-30 minutes to the overall length of the PA, but gets people talking about why they are at the PA before the main section of the assembly…)

Testify

Before we get into the section of the People’s Assembly where you will all be able to talk through our specific issue in a facilitated way, we first like to give anyone who would like an opportunity to talk about what has brought them here today.

QUESTION: What has brought you here today?

FACILITATOR 2: The Three Pillars

A people’s assembly differs from debate where one person is 'right' and the other is 'wrong' and from the typical discussion or conversation where people have a tendency to dominate with questions and interjections. The assembly allows each participant to be held with respect and full attention - and no judgement - whilst sharing from the heart and for each participant to get a turn.

It's ok not to actively share too. Witnessing the sharing of others' feelings and experiences is as important as expressing one's own.

In an assembly, the focus is on personal feelings and experiences. Each speaker is encouraged to say 'I' - rather than 'we' or 'they' whilst sharing with others.

This can be encapsulated within the three pillars, which are:

THREE PILLARS:

(Radical Inclusivity also means being aware of potential barriers to engagement and working with those affected to enable participation. Think about disabled access, sign language, whisper interpretation for those for whom English isn’t their first language and other possible means by which those barriers can be removed. Ask at the start of an assembly if there are any barriers to engagement that people need to identify and then request that the group work together to find ways to remove them.)

FACILITATOR 1: Framing the Topic - What is the aim of THIS people’s assembly?

BACKGROUND

Frame your assembly here:

QUESTION(S)

State your question or topic for discussion clearly here, and if possible write it up in the exact wording you use somewhere that will remain visible to all participants throughout the assembly.

Always ask for any clarifications at this point, and be open to working to reword the question/topic if needed You can ask for a ‘temperature check’ here to make sure the assembly agrees with the proposed wording.

A good question is worded in accessible language, not too long, and is broad enough to allow for free discussion, but not so broad that a structured conversation around it is difficult. Likewise a very specific question won’t generate a very diverse response.

For example, if you would like to engage people around the topic of buying local produce, you might ask:

‘Should we start a Food Hub?

This question is very narrow, and really requires a yes or no, so it is unlikely to generate a lot of great ideas.

‘How can we improve access to local produce?’

This question is broader, still focused on local access, gives scope for creativity. ‘What can we do to reduce food miles? - Too broad, this could encompass all manner of different approaches and likely to lead to the conversation jumping from local to regional to national issues.

Deliberation Phase

Breakout Room Technical Advice

Breakout Rooms

Create Rooms

Divide the number of participants in total by the number of people you want in the group, and ZOOM will automatically assign people to group rooms. Once you have done this, look at the lists to check that all rooms have the right number of people.

Options

FACILITATOR 2: How does a People’s Assembly work?

You will discuss the PA question in breakout groups of 8-10, then feedback to the entire assembly.

Each group needs a facilitator and a note taker:

For an online assembly you can share a live ‘Harvest Doc’ for each breakout room’s note taker to use. This keeps all the notes in one place and allows participants to look back at the notes from discussions in the other groups. You can make your own Harvest Doc or copy the Template here into a live doc (such as a Google Doc) to be shared and edited.

Use the hand signals to communicate in your groups and to ensure radical inclusivity. (recap hand signals here)

10 minutes before the end of your allocated time, the note-taker should summarise the group’s notes, then use temperature checks to identify the points that have the most support or acceptance.

The group should then work together to reach agreement on the main points to feed back to the Assembly.

Decide how you want the feedback to happen. For larger assemblies ensure each group has fewer points to feed back verbally.

Then decide what you will do with this feedback. Will the main assembly note taker make note of the most popular points? Or will the note takers from each breakout group give written points to the assembly Facilitator/Notetaker?

Ask for clarifications on the process and then restate the questions being discussed.]

Technical Facilitator under MANAGE PARTICIPANTS unmutes everyone (in preparation for break out rooms, so those getting to grips with zoom don't need to spend time looking for the unmute button).

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (send into break-out groups)

Discussion (25 mins or whatever your allocated time is)

Use BREAKOUT ROOMS > BROADCAST to give timings and other instructions to the groups.

After 25 minutes, warn groups that they need to round up: they have 10 minutes for…

When you click CLOSE GROUPS the default is that they will have 1 minute and then be automatically returned to the main group. You can change this in BREAKOUT ROOM settings.

Integration/Output Phase

FACILITATOR 1: Ending

Appendix 1 - Dealing with Difficult Interactions

A collection of thoughts and ideas on how to approach difficult interactions and behaviours:

In Person Community People's Assembly

Important Things to Consider

Before you attempt to facilitate a People’s Assembly, please make sure you have at least attended one! But remember: it’s not rocket science. Give it a go! You’ll be great!

This script is just a starting point. As you do more, you’ll figure out your own way of saying what’s here. Don’t feel that this is the only way in which a People’s Assembly can be facilitated, although this method is based on many years of experience in PA’s by people from all over the World.

Other things to note:

Input Phase

FACILITATOR 1: Introduction

Facilitators introduce themselves, perhaps say a little of your background and experience with PA’s and Community Organising or Projects - Brief but inspiring! If you want to bring people into the space, perhaps do a short visioning exercise, inviting people to imagine something or think about what brought them to the space.

Input Phase

During the input phase, we explain the process and structure of the assembly, we introduce the hand signals, and frame the focus of the assembly, as well as what will happen with the outcomes from the assembly.

(If you are having more input here than just presenting the topic for discussion, such as speakers, video etc you will explain that here too)

Deliberation Phase

During the Deliberation (discussion) phase, you will be placed in small groups for [insert chosen length of deliberation phase] minutes and discuss the question/topic of this assembly.

Integration Phase

At the end of the Deliberation phase, the groups will come back into the full assembly and feedback what was generated in their small discussion group.

Facilitator 2: Hand Signals

(Demonstrate the hand signals used in assembly to allow people to use them during the introduction and input phase of the assembly.)

We use hand signals to facilitate a discussion in which all voices get heard, no one dominates and we don’t speak over each other. We will outline the hand signals you will need to take part today. Don’t worry if you can’t remember them as they will be repeated later in the session.

HAND SIGNALS

(As you verbally outline the hand signals, physically show them to ensure people fully understand them).

FACILITATOR 1: Introduce the concept of a People’s Assembly

What is a People’s Assembly?

A people’s assembly is a structured way for a group of people to discuss issues, generate ideas and/or make decisions collectively in a manner in which all voices are heard and valued equally and no one person, or group, is able to dominate the process.

People's assemblies are 'self selected' meaning that anyone can choose to take part. They are not to be confused with Citizens Assemblies which are randomly selected from the population by the process of Sortition, to make sure it is representative in terms of key characteristics such as gender, age, ethnicity, education level and geography. Citizens’ Assembly members would learn about critical thinking before they hear balanced information from experts and stakeholders. They would then spend time deliberating in small facilitated groups, similar to the break-out groups we’re going to use in this People’s Assembly.

People’s Assemblies have been used throughout history and all over the world as a means to enable people to come together and achieve real social change:

Inclusivity Statement:

Before we start a People’s Assembly, we like to read out this inclusivity statement:

“We value all voices equally in the assembly, as the aim is to hear the wisdom of the crowd gathered here and not to have the assembly dominated by individual voices or groups. We recognise that confident speakers are not always right and that those who are not confident speakers will often have the most useful ideas or opinions to put into the discussion. This is why we value all voices equally and we ask you to do the same. We do not tolerate any calling out, abuse or shaming. We welcome all people but not all behaviours.”

We want to hear your voice, if you want to speak, no matter what. Whatever age you are, wherever you are from and whatever you do.

The whole process will take about an hour and a half*, and we’d love you to stay for the whole of that, but feel free to go or come as you like or need.

(If you have the time, it’s good to do a TESTIFY at this point. It’ll add about 15-30 minutes to the overall length of the PA, but gets people talking about why they are at the PA before the main section of the assembly…)

Testify

Before we get into the section of the People’s Assembly where you will all be able to talk through our specific issue in a facilitated way, we first like to give anyone who would like an opportunity to talk about what has brought them here today.

QUESTION: What has brought you here today?

FACILITATOR 2: The Three Pillars

A people’s assembly differs from debate where one person is 'right' and the other is 'wrong' and from the typical discussion or conversation where people have a tendency to dominate with questions and interjections. The assembly allows each participant to be held with respect and full attention - and no judgement - whilst sharing from the heart and for each participant to get a turn.

It's ok not to actively share too. Witnessing the sharing of others' feelings and experiences is as important as expressing one's own.

In an assembly, the focus is on personal feelings and experiences. Each speaker is encouraged to say 'I' - rather than 'we' or 'they' whilst sharing with others.

This can be encapsulated within the three pillars, which are:

THREE PILLARS:

  1. Effective assemblies achieve radical inclusivity, where the emphasis on all being heard and valued equally means no voices are dominating and the collective wisdom of the assembly can be reached. People can participate safely and openly, without fear of judgement or ridicule.
  2. For those who often speak up in situations like this, think WAIT...Why Am I Talking - try to say only what is needed.

(Radical Inclusivity also means being aware of potential barriers to engagement and working with those affected to enable participation. Think about disabled access, sign language, whisper interpretation for those for whom English isn’t their first language and other possible means by which those barriers can be removed. Ask at the start of an assembly if there are any barriers to engagement that people need to identify and then request that the group work together to find ways to remove them.)

FACILITATOR 1: Framing the Topic - What is the aim of THIS people’s assembly?

BACKGROUND

Frame your assembly here:

QUESTION(S)

State your question or topic for discussion clearly here, and if possible write it up in the exact wording you use somewhere that will remain visible to all participants throughout the assembly.

Always ask for any clarifications at this point, and be open to working to reword the question/topic if needed You can ask for a ‘temperature check’ here to make sure the assembly agrees with the proposed wording.

A good question is worded in accessible language, not too long, and is broad enough to allow for free discussion, but not so broad that a structured conversation around it is difficult. Likewise a very specific question won’t generate a very diverse response.

For example, if you would like to engage people around the topic of buying local produce, you might ask:

This question is very narrow, and really requires a yes or no, so it is unlikely to generate a lot of great ideas.

This question is broader, still focused on local access, gives scope for creativity. ‘What can we do to reduce food miles? - Too broad, this could encompass all manner of different approaches and likely to lead to the conversation jumping from local to regional to national issues.

Deliberation Phase

FACILITATOR 2: How does a People’s Assembly work?

You will discuss the PA question in breakout groups of 8-10, then feedback to the entire assembly.

Each group needs a facilitator and a note taker:

Use the hand signals to communicate in your groups and to ensure radical inclusivity. (recap hand signals here)

10 minutes before the end of your allocated time, the note-taker should summarise the group’s notes, then use temperature checks to identify the points that have the most support or acceptance.

The group should then work together to reach agreement on the main points to feed back to the Assembly.

Decide how you want the feedback to happen. For larger assemblies ensure each group has fewer points to feed back verbally.

*Then decide what you will do with this feedback. Will the main assembly note taker make note of the most popular points? Or will the note takers from each breakout group give written points to the assembly Facilitator/Notetaker?_

Potential integration structures - select the most appropriate:

Ask for clarifications on the process and then restate the questions being discussed.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Discussion (25 mins or whatever your allocated time is)

After 25 minutes, warn groups that they need to round up: they have 10 minutes for…

Integration/Output Phase

FACILITATOR 1: Ending

Appendix 1 - Dealing with Difficult Interactions

A collection of thoughts and ideas on how to approach difficult interactions and behaviours:

Reflecting on Your Community Assembly

You’ve had your first community assembly, well done! You’re beginning an extraordinary journey with others in your community, finding ways to ensure all voices are heard and using the wisdom of the crowd to make decisions collectively.

With any luck you will have identified your next step(s), even if this is just to hold another assembly soon! Before you focus on the next steps, however, it is useful to put aside time for personal reflection and for a group debrief to reflect on how things went: What did you learn? What went well? What could be improved for next time?

Engaging in such reflective processes will allow you to gauge the needs and the feelings of your communities and brainstorm solutions to challenges going forward.

Personal Reflection

It is often useful to reflect as an individual before coming together to debrief with others. Creating time for personal reflection will help you unpick your experiences and perceptions, so that you can share these with the group. Sometimes, if we go straight into a group debrief, we don’t have time to get to the bottom of our own feelings and views.

A good framework for this individual reflection is to consider:

These questions, though simple, can help you consider all aspects of your assembly and organise what you have learnt or can learn from. They don’t need to be answered in any particular order, but for ease of reference we will go through them in the order listed:

Who?

This question is about who participated. Firstly, think about who contributed at the assembly: Was there anyone who felt left out or who seemed unable to actively join in? It’s important to understand those who were present, to identify who is the most enthusiastic, and who may need extra support.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Secondly, focus on who came to your assembly. Was there anyone or were there any groups missing?

This is also an important consideration in terms of diversity. We are trying to reach everyone, build strong and resilient communities that serve the needs of everyone, especially those who are most vulnerable and marginalised under the current system. If these minorities are missing from assemblies, then that’s a problem.

Consider who you intended to reach, who you might like to reach in future and how you could go about this more effectively. From these ideas you can analyse your channels, think if anything might need to be changed.

Ask yourself the following questions:

When?

This question refers to the timing of your assembly, both in a practical sense – the time of day it was, the day of the week, any time-sensitive responses required – and in terms of where you and your group are in your journey.

Firstly, focus on the practical sense of when and think the impact that the timing had on attendance. If, for instance, the assembly was held late one evening, it might have excluded parents of young children. Equally, if it was held during the day, if it was held during the day on a weekday, it may have been inaccessible to people who are working.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Secondly, it is worth considering if there is anything time sensitive. Did you establish any next steps in the assembly which are urgent and need careful attention?

If relevant, ask yourself:

Finally, think about your group and where you are in your journey. It is useful to think about the group relationships and foundations. For example, did everyone in the group have the necessary level of trust with one another? Is there anything that needs to be accomplished first?

It is vital that you spend time building strong connections before you think about mobilising to make change. This is not to say it’s a linear, one-follows-the-other requirement but that they are intrinsically linked and demand equal attention. A team that trusts each other will work together more effectively, and will be able to overcome any challenges that appear in a constructive and collaborative way.

Where?

This question can address both the location of your assembly and can help you identify where the most work is needed.

Firstly, consider the location of your assembly and think about accessibility and suitability of the location.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Secondly, consider where the work and energy might come from to help the community assembly process get to where it needs to or to where it can.

Ask yourself the following questions:

What?

This question is simply about what happened. Hopefully you have kept notes, or maybe even have a recording of your assembly. If you have the notes, re-read them, if you have a video, watch it. Replay the event and really ruminate on how it went.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Why?

This question seeks to measure your success by thinking about why you decided to have the community assembly in the first place.

Perhaps you had a specific goal in mind that you wanted an outcome for, or maybe your intention was simply for every member of your community who attended to leave feeling heard and understood. Consider what your goal was, establish if it has been met and then you can consider what steps may have contributed to your relative success or failure.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Group Reflection and Debrief

Once you’ve had time to think on your own, turn to your group to get other people’s perspectives on the assembly and debrief together. Be sure to share your personal reflections with the group and to listen to everyone else’s feedback. The principle of a community assembly is that every participant has a chance to make their voice heard, every voice is valued and that people make decisions together, so make every effort to ensure that even the reflection and debrief process embodies this.

You can ask a lot of the same questions, using the who, where, when, what, why structure. Below are some extra questions and ideas you might also want to explore.

  1. Goals:

    • What were your goals for the assembly?
    • Were they achieved?
  2. Logistics:

    • Were there any problems encountered along the way?
  3. Problem solving:

    • How would you/did you go about solving these problems?
  4. Funding:

    • Are there monetary considerations that need to be addressed?
  5. Risk management:

    • Were there any setbacks beyond your control? (i.e. sickness, internal conflicts)
    • What impact did they have?
    • Are there any steps that could be taken to mitigate these in future?
  6. Training:

    • Do you feel those facilitating had adequate training for their positions?
    • Were participants sufficiently prepared for the process of deliberative democracy?
  7. Expectations:

    • Was everything made clear from the outset?
    • Or did people end up disappointed?
    • What might be needed to establish more clarity?
  8. Information channels

    • Was all necessary information readily available?
  9. Successes

    • Celebrate your triumphs! What went well?
    • What can you congratulate yourself and each other for?
  10. Best practice

    • How can you replicate these successes in the future?
    • What are your standards for behaviour and interactions?
  11. Registration

    • How effective was your registration process?
  12. Tech

    • Are there any technical considerations?
    • Who is best placed to deal with these?
  13. Idea generation

    • Have a brainstorm, what would everyone like to see at future assemblies?
  14. Inclusion

    • Did everyone feel sufficiently included?
    • Who would you like to see at future assemblies?
  15. Branding

    • Does everyone feel represented?
    • Or is the message and culture antithetical to the beliefs of some involved?
  16. Communication channels

    • Were you able to reach everyone in a timely manner?
  17. Deliverables

    • A deliverable is something that is produced as a result of a project. So, in terms of your community assembly this could be a report, a document, a survey or any other ‘building block’ of your overall plan for your community.
      • Do you have any deliverables that you need to create?
      • Are there any deliverables you would like to aim towards?
  18. Content coordination

    • Was the process of planning and sharing the content convenient and effective?
  19. Setup

    • Was the assembly itself well organised?
    • Was everything available that you needed?
    • Did everyone involved in setup and planning have adequate support?
  20. Time management

    • Did you have enough time? If no, why not?
  21. Infrastructure *Any other considerations – what you needed but didn’t have. You may wish to discuss accessibility concerns, for disabled people, young children or older people who may be less comfortable using technology.

    • Was everyone able to access the space?
    • What can be done in the future to boost accessibility?
  22. Agenda

    • Was everyone made aware of the intentions of the assembly in advance?
    • Was the agenda clear and accessible?
    • Were there any scheduling issues?
  23. Interactions

    • How far did you succeed in creating a space to foster useful and beneficial connections?
  24. Critical thinking

    • What did you learn?
    • How could you better further the group’s knowledge and ensure well-informed decisions are being taken?
  25. Workshops

    • Did you make use of any talks and training in the run up to your assembly?
    • Are there any you missed which could have been useful?
  26. Engagement

    • How was everyone engaging with the questions/content?
    • What could be done to encourage more meaningful discussions?
  27. Individual experiences

    • Are there any disparities in people’s experiences of the assembly?
    • It’s useful to reflect on different demographics here.
  28. Emotional engagement

    • Did people feel emotionally engaged?
    • Did the messaging resonate?
    • What narratives were identified during sharing?
  29. Continuing education

    • Are there useful development opportunities, roles and responsibilities for those interested?
  30. Social media

    • Did you post about the assembly on social media?
    • What could be done to encourage more online engagement?
  31. Recreational offerings

    • Is there a need for more fun, connection activities to facilitate more successful assemblies in future?
  32. Messaging and Communication

    • What channels are being used to maintain contact with everyone involved?
  33. Event layout

    • How was your meeting space set up?
  34. ROI

    • Return on investment – did the amount of time and effort you invested into getting this assembly together translate into a favourable result?
    • Is the workload being shared fairly?
  35. Attendee interactions

    • How did everyone get on together?
    • Were there any conflicts?

This is by no means an exhaustive list and you can decide in your own group how extensive your reflection is. The important thing is that you do think back on what has been accomplished and establish a culture of ongoing introspection and reflection, and you proactively engage with your findings to improve future community assemblies.