The Danish Board of Technology organized the Consensus Conference on Traffic and Driving Charges (Borgerpanelets - Konsensuskonference om trafik og kørselsafgifte). Across 3 days, 15 citizens participated in expert and public official hearings before forming recommendations.
Problems and Purpose
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 acknowledged the impact of driving on society, health, and the environment. Yet, it did not support the introduction of a public system of traffic and driving charges. According to the panel, "based on the existing uncertain information (models, forecasts, calculations and lack of financial impact calculations), the decision basis is insufficient for the Citizens Panel to assess whether road pricing is a suitable means.” They recommend better integrated policies in terms of public transport and urban planning in order to induce changes in behaviours before introducing a public system of traffic and driving charges. It is unclear how these recommendations have been integrated into new public policies.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
See Also
References
External Links
Notes
This entry is based on the POLITICIZE dataset. More information can be found at the following links:
- Paulis, Emilien; Pilet, Jean-Benoit; Panel, Sophie; Vittori, Davide; Close, Caroline, 2020, "POLITICIZE Dataset", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/Z7X6GT, Harvard Dataverse, V1
- Pilet J-B, Paulis E, Panel S.,Vitori D & Close C. 202X The POLITICIZE Dataset: an inventory of Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe. European Political Science.