In 1998, the new Labour government commissioned MORI to create the “People’s Panel”. Its aim was to create a large representative population that could measure public opinion on various public issues. The People's Panel was dissolved in 2002.
Problems and Purpose
The “People’s Panel” was meant to measure public opinion on various public issues from transportation, local government and democracy, to leaflets on genetically modified foods. They were able to conduct interviews, focus groups, and to seriously consider a variety of topics, until the panel's dissolution.
Background History and Context
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
By 2001, the People’s Panel had cost about £12,112,735. It was dissolved in 2002.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
A trial was run first with 353 people to test participation, and organizers found that there was a difficulty recruiting younger people. This was taken into account when the final panel was conducted. Around 5000 members of the public were used to consider a variety of decisions. They were chosen to represent the population in terms of age, location, and gender. They also recruited over 800 people that balanced the representation of ethnic minorities.
Methods and Tools Used
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
It was considered too costly and government judged that individual departments were doing enough of their own consultation work for it not to be necessary anymore. It was disbanded in 2002. Its effect, if any, on policy prior to that is unclear. There were annual reports written on results from the panel.
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.
