From May 12th to 15th, 2000, the 14 members of the Consensus Conference on Noise convened to discuss the issue of noise in the city.
Problems and Purpose
Following the traditional format of consensus conferences set up by the Danish Board of Technology (DBT), 14 randomly-selected lay citizens were invited to deliberate during three days about noise pollution, and how technologies may be used to introduce new public policies to combat noise pollution. The consensus conference started with hearings from experts and public officials, before lay citizens began deliberating. In the end, they issued a report listing the elements that they reached consensus on. [1]
Background History and Context
In the mid-1980s, the Danish government created the Danish Board of Technology (DBT), a body of experts set up to assess technological innovations and their impact for Danish society. The DBT was asked to initiate reflections and to formulate recommendations on various technology-related issues. In order to involve citizens in its work, the DBT developed the format of consensus conference composed of lay citizens selected by lot, and gathered for a few days to deliberative on a topic (with the help of experts). In total, the DBT organized more than 20 consensus conferences between 1987 and 2011. The DBT was then dissolved by the Danish Government in 2011. Consensus conferences remain used in Denmark but by the successor of the DBT, the Danish Board of Technology Foundation. It has become a private operator, and not a public one. [1]
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The Danish Board of Technology, now the Danish Board of Technology Foundation, organized this process.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The panel of lay citizens issued a report recommending that a much more ambitious political plan for the prevention of noise be carried out in Denmark. It would include, among other things: (1) applying WHO recommendations, especially regarding children exposure to noise, (2) integrating all regulations into one single noise law, (3) creating a responsible public body of noise, (4) clear indicators of noise on all machines, technologies and buildings, for citizens to opt for the less noisy devices. It is unclear how these recommendations have been integrated into new public policies. The report was transmitted to the DBT, included in the publications of the DBT, and distributed to politicians in government and parliament. [1]
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
References
[1] Paulis, Emilien; Pilet, Jean-Benoit; Panel, Sophie; Vittori, Davide; Close, Caroline, 2020, "POLITICIZE Dataset", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/Z7X6GT, Harvard Dataverse, V1
External Links
Notes
Data was sourced from OECD (2020), Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions: Catching the Deliberative Wave, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/339306da-en.
