One of three citizens' jury style minipublics conducted by CSIRO on the question of what mix of energy technologies best fit Australia's needs into the future. Three processes were run in Perth, Newcastle and Melbourne.
Problems and Purpose
This citizens' panel in Perth, WA, was one of three processes conducted in Australia as part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) research into the use of energy and future energy uses in Australia. The panels were carried out by academic researchers and CSIRO.
The aim of the panel was to understand the 'social dimension of energy futures, fleshing out the potential nature of social responses, rates of technology uptake and bottlenecks of resistance where there are perceived risks' [1].
Background History and Context
Know what events led up to this initiative? Help us complete this section!
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The panel and associated research was conducted by CSIRO and academics Simon Niemeyer and Kath Fisher.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Participants were recruited through a process of random stratification. Invitations were sent to a random sample of 2000 people. From the 110 positive responses, a sample was stratified to reflect demographic categories, resulting in a final sample of 23 people [2].
Methods and Tools Used
The citizens' panel was modeled on the citizens' jury and planning cell approaches. Q methodology was used to compare the shifts in collective viewpoints before and after deliberation.
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The citizens' panel in Perth was one of three deliberative panels carried out as part of the overall research project with CSIRO. For this particular panel, participants were not provided with background information on the topic because one of the research aims was to understand viewpoints as they were. In a later phase of the research, a separate panel was conducted where participants were given prior information [3].
The panel took place over three days where participants heard expert presentations and took part in group deliberation. The aim was to understand participants' views on the plausibility of different energy scenarios and how comprehensible they were.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
This panel was part of Phase 1 of a wider project. The results of the panel were used to inform Phase 2 of the research with a further panel held in Melbourne.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
This report provides details of the overall research project including details of the panel in Perth. Further analysis can be found in this book chapter.
See Also
References
[1] Littleboy, A., Boughen, N., Niemeyer, S., and Fisher, K. (2006). Societal Uptake of Alternative Energy Futures FINAL REPORT [pdf]. Available at: https://publications.csiro.au/rpr/download?pid=legacy:647&dsid=DS1, p. 6.
[2] Ibid., p. 13
[3] Ibid., p. 14
