1.5 Paul Carroll presentation - the Brighton & Hove climate assembly
We were just about to get started on recruitment when we went into lockdown, but we’re just about to get started again using a different approach.
Face to face isn’t possible for getting a lot of people together for quite a while. We have taken the decision to run this online and broken 3 sessions down into 7 sessions, across 3 stages.
Stage 1 – introductions to the assembly and the topic
Stage 1 will stay the same though it will be a little shorter with a stronger focus on tech support.
Stage 2 – learning, listening to experts and introducing/exploring scenarios
We will now break this down into 3 sessions, of 2 hours, over the course of one week. They need to be in the same week so there’s continuity. 2 to 3 hours tends to be the optimal length.
Materials will be shared online so participants can engage with the materials in between and after sessions. Allowing people to absorb things in their own time, query and revisit.
Stage 3 – deliberating and forming recommendations
We will now divide stage 3 into 3 two-hour sessions, with homework tasks in between meetings.
We will use a range of formats – it’s an opportunity for people to engage in various ways.
The report will share the recommendations and an analysis of how the participants arrived at them.
Feedback - the ‘ask’ of participants
A case made that 3 two-hour sessions, ran twice, could be too disruptive to some people’s schedules, suggestions were:
- 2 three-hour sessions to minimise disruption
- doing a poll to establish preference
Feedback (provided throughout the meeting) - wider engagement
Board members raised wider engagement as a point that had not yet been flagged/considered:
- what will be done to engage the wider public with the process (during as well as after) – sense this is needed to create buy-in for the outcomes
- the critical point about wider engagement is to make sure that other members of the public understand the role of the assembly, how they can contribute and to demonstrate that they’re being heard – this requires a framework to engage the wider public productively
- it is important that the wider community trust the process in order for them to be supportive of the outcomes
- clarification that this methodology does not have time or budget to enable participants to set the agenda of the assembly
- query about supporting emotional needs of participants, specifically because climate change is an emotive issue - Ipsos is going to trial different ways of offering support in the virtual context
- discussion and support for inclusion of under 16s - strong support and challenges on this topic - questions relating to working with schools/ parents as part of the assembly with Brighton & Hove City Council clarifying they had previously been planning work with schools, but this has stalled due to the pandemic
- clarification that the council are working with Bang the Table throughout the summer to engage citizens on a wider basis – this has been agreed and the contract is being sorted