Data

General Issues
Health
Science & Technology
Specific Topics
Biomedical Research & Development
Collections
The POLITICIZE Project on Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe
Location
Germany
Scope of Influence
National
Links
The POLITICIZE Dataset of 105 Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe, 2000–2020
The POLITICIZE Project
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Begleitende Evaluation der Bürgerkonferenz "Streitfall Gendiagnostik"
" ... a certain amount of engineering involved": Constructing the public in participatory governance arrangements
Start Date
End Date
Ongoing
No
Time Limited or Repeated?
A single, defined period of time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
Approach
Consultation
Spectrum of Public Participation
Consult
Total Number of Participants
19
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Limited to Only Some Groups or Individuals
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Stratified Random Sample
General Types of Methods
Deliberative and dialogic process
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
Recruit or select participants
Propose and/or develop policies, ideas, and recommendations
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Deliberation
Sortition
Civic Lottery
Consensus Conference
Legality
Yes
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Face-to-Face
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
Ask & Answer Questions
Information & Learning Resources
Expert Presentations
Decision Methods
General Agreement/Consensus
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
Public Report
Type of Organizer/Manager
Non-Governmental Organization
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior

CASE

Consensus Conference on Genetic Diagnosis (Dresden, Germany)

General Issues
Health
Science & Technology
Specific Topics
Biomedical Research & Development
Collections
The POLITICIZE Project on Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe
Location
Germany
Scope of Influence
National
Links
The POLITICIZE Dataset of 105 Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs) in Europe, 2000–2020
The POLITICIZE Project
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Begleitende Evaluation der Bürgerkonferenz "Streitfall Gendiagnostik"
" ... a certain amount of engineering involved": Constructing the public in participatory governance arrangements
Start Date
End Date
Ongoing
No
Time Limited or Repeated?
A single, defined period of time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
Approach
Consultation
Spectrum of Public Participation
Consult
Total Number of Participants
19
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Limited to Only Some Groups or Individuals
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Stratified Random Sample
General Types of Methods
Deliberative and dialogic process
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Facilitate dialogue, discussion, and/or deliberation
Recruit or select participants
Propose and/or develop policies, ideas, and recommendations
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Deliberation
Sortition
Civic Lottery
Consensus Conference
Legality
Yes
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Face-to-Face
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Discussion, Dialogue, or Deliberation
Ask & Answer Questions
Information & Learning Resources
Expert Presentations
Decision Methods
General Agreement/Consensus
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
Public Report
Type of Organizer/Manager
Non-Governmental Organization
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior

The Consensus Conference on Genetic Diagnosis (Bürgerkonferenz „Streitfall Gendiagnostik“) brought together 19 randomly selected participants in 2001 across 2 weekends to discuss preimplantation genetic diagnosis, prenatal testing, preventive testing, and stem cell research.

Problems and Purpose

Background History and Context

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

It was initiated by the Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and organized by the Hygiene Museum of Dresden.

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The selection of participants took place in several steps. First, the organizers randomly selected postal addresses from population registers of German cities (following this rule: for each Bundesland, 250 addresses from the regional capital and a city with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants; and for the eight most populous Bundesländer, 250 addresses from cities with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants; thus, the initial sample was drawn from 40 cities and included 10,000 people). Approx. 300 people declared their interest (3%). These 300 people were then sorted into 20 groups: first, the sample was divided between men and women; then, each subgroup was divided in 3 age groups (16-30, 31-60, >60); then, for each gender, the age groups were divided by professional status (for the 16-30 years old: student, working, jobless; for the 31-60: working, housewife, jobless, other; for the >60: pensioner, working, jobless). Finally, the organizer had visitors of the museum randomly pick one participant within each of the 20 categories.

Methods and Tools Used

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

Participants wrote a final report that was publicly presented in front of representatives of expert bodies and elected representatives. Participants positioned themselves in favor of preventive diagnosis, but under strict privacy conditions; pre-implantation diagnosis and stem cell research were rejected by most of the participants. Policy impact remains unknown, but is likely minimal.

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.