Activities of the Center for Deliberation in 2012 – summary
RESEARCH AND APPLIED PROJECTS
The project entitled “Not just voting – citizen involvement in politics”
Examples of legal and institutional support and ways of implementing public consultation in European countries. The analysis includes information gathered through interviews with politicians, researchers and experts, as well as documents and literature. Following research funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark and France in 2011, a series of interviews with communication and media researchers in Russia was conducted in 2012. Realisation: Anna Przybylska
Project entitled “Don’t complain, talk about how to study at Warsaw universities”
(implementation: 2010-2012)
Student debate using an online platform. On the methodological side, the debate was inspired by the deliberative polling method. 990 people took part in a survey prior to the debate. 440 questionnaires were accepted. The software side of the debates was supported by Adobe. Approximately 52 students divided into 9 groups participated in the moderated debates. The asynchronous debate had 35 participants. The debates were prepared as part of classes at the Institute of Sociology. The first findings were presented at an open seminar. The full report, including quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative data (transcription of debates) will be published in April 2013. Work on its preparation is ongoing. Students, doctoral students and employees of the UW are participating. The debate received the patronage of the Student Parliament of the Republic of Poland and the President of the City of Warsaw. Project website: www.cd.uw.edu.pl/sd. Team: Centre for Deliberation, students and doctoral students of the University of Warsaw and other Warsaw universities.
The project entitled. “Prohibition in Częstochowa – support to the city council in the preparation and implementation of public consultations”.
(implementation: 2011/2012)
The project consisted in proposing a concept for the debates and selecting participants, as well as conducting discussion meetings. The issue concerned the upholding or repealing of a prohibition resolution covering part of the area of one of Częstochowa’s districts and the conditions under which the decision to uphold or repeal it would be taken. The issue under consideration has long been the subject of disputes used in election campaigns for local government and even the Sejm. The Centre for Deliberation prepared information materials, debate scenarios, led the debates and prepared the final report. Team: Anna Przybylska, Katarzyna Bielesz, Maja Sawicka, Dawid Krakowiak
Project: ‘Covering Europe. “Covering Europe. Mapping Foreign Correspondence in European Countries”.
(implementation: 2012-2013)
Dr Anna Przybylska has been invited to participate in an international project to conduct comparative research in 35 European countries on the work of foreign correspondents and the image of the countries they report from. The project leader is Professor Georgios Terzis of the Vrije Universiteit Brussels. The product of the work will be a book to be published in 2013 by Routledge. The publication has received support from the European Communication Research
and Education Association. Dr Przybylska has planned a workshop for IS UW students related to this project in 2013.
The project entitled ‘GM’s apple of discord. Policy making and new frontiers in political communication”
At the beginning of 2012. The IS Deliberation Centre of the UW established contact with the University of Bergen. We are working on a joint comparative research project. The framework of the project was prepared in 2012. Dr Anna Przybylska was invited by the University of Bergen to give a lecture and to work out the details of the project. We are working directly with Prof. Linda Sangolt.
DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
An online course entitled. “Consultation in our city” for the residents of Krakow and in the future other cities
The course was commissioned by the Municipality of Krakow. Contents: introduction to public consultation, methods and tools for participation; introduction to the principles of participation in a well-managed public debate, combined with workshops; discussion of the use of the Internet in the public consultation process by means of examples, with particular emphasis on good practices from Finland, Scotland, the United States.
Seminar on “Systemic determinants of participation” – 29.06.2011 r.
The discussion concerned the effectiveness of institutional forms of citizen participation in decision-making on public matters in Poland after 1989. We considered the evaluation of legal regulations concerning civic participation in decision-making on public matters. We asked our panellists what, from the perspective of the legal provisions, are the prospects for civic participation in Poland. We also considered the effectiveness of various methods of engaging citizens in building the common good. Panellists: Radosław Gawlik (Eko-Unia, Zieloni 2004), Prof. Piotr Gliński (Polish Academy of Sciences, University of Białystok), Prof. Hubert Izdebski (University of Warsaw), Prof. Jacek Sroka (University of Wrocław), Kuba Wygnański (Pracownia Badań i Innowacji Społecznych “Stocznia”). Moderators: Dr Paweł Poławski and Dr Anna Przybylska.
Seminar entitled “Introducing deliberation into Public Opinion Polls?”
13.03.2012 r.
Seminar with Prof Robert Chang – Director of the Opinion Research Programme at the University of Hong Kong and Prof Radoslaw Markowski – Director of the Centre for Democracy Studies at the School of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Prof Chung characterised the projects introducing deliberative elements into opinion polls being carried out at the University of Hong Kong. He referred, among other things, to the preparation of the Deliberative Survey®, a method of public consultation previously used in mainland China. He will also present the experience of the opinion poll centre he runs in using online tools. The debate, initiated by Prof. Radoslaw Markowski, addressed the issue of representativeness in deliberative forms of consultation, consensus vs. distribution of opinion as an outcome of consultation, and barriers to e-deliberation. Chairing: Anna Przybylska.
Seminar entitled ‘Don’t complain! Talk about how to study at Warsaw universities”.
26.11.2012 r.
The aim of the seminar was to share the experience of the online debate on how to study at Warsaw’s universities. Among students, university representatives and experts, we discussed the preliminary results of the survey and discussion, and reflected on recommendations for the report. Information about the seminar can be found at www.cd.uw.edu.pl/sd. The full report, including quantitative (survey) and qualitative (transcription of debates) data, will be published in April 2013. Work on its preparation is ongoing. Students, postgraduates and UW staff are participating.
International conference at the UW on ‘Deliberation: values, processes, institutions’.
4-5.06.2012 r.
The aim of the conference was to discuss current issues of communication management in the context of decision-making processes, which are attracting increasing interest. Particular attention was paid to issues of a practical nature, the results of the latest research, as well as innovative solutions for Poland and the world. Specific threads of discussion included:
– values and the limits of deliberation,
– evaluation criteria and the quality of the (mediated) public debate,
– experimentation, social intervention and the public sphere as we know it,
– deliberative forms of civic engagement: systemic regulation vs. bottom-up action,
– Internet deliberation: technological and human limitations,
– Innovation in democracy: perspectives on development;
The conference provided an opportunity for academics and practitioners representing 14 countries and 3 continents to discuss. The conference programme and abstracts of presentations can be found on the website of the Centre for Deliberation: www.cd.uw.edu.pl. The product of the conference will include a book edited by Prof. Stephen Coleman (University of Leeds), Prof. Yves Sintomer (University of Paris 8) and Anna Przybylska (Institute of Sociology, University of Warsaw). The publication is in preparation and will be published by Peter Lang Publisher.
Seminars for UW students
Research seminar entitled. “The Deliberative Survey® at the university: a discussion on the quality of studying”.
The aim of the research seminar was to prepare, implement and summarise the results of the Deliberative Survey®, an innovative method of public consultation. The SD consists of two surveys separated by a group debate and a plenary debate with experts. The debate takes place in relation to information material on the issues of plagiarism, payment for second majors and educational methods, as well as alternative action scenarios. The Deliberative Survey® involves a representative group of people randomly selected from the population to be surveyed. In the course, the subject of the SD was to be the quality of education at the university. Students participated in the design and implementation of the survey relating to their direct experiences.
Seminar on ‘Between us citizens: the role of debate in public consultation’.
The aim of the seminar was to introduce the role of debate in politics. During the weekly meetings, we reflected on strategies for involving ordinary citizens in the discussion of public issues. We considered what conditions must be met for debate to achieve the goals of public consultation. The students were introduced to different methods and techniques of public debate. They were also able to compare and evaluate the usefulness of different forms of deliberative consultation, in terms of costs/benefits and outcomes. The use of different methods and techniques of public debate was illustrated with examples from the world and Poland. The main focus was on the practical aspects of deliberation in problem solving at local and national levels. During the course, students participated in exercises in which they played the roles of debate organisers/participants.
Workshop entitled. “Online group debates: quality assessment criteria and their application in practice”.
The aim of the workshop was to familiarise students with different criteria for assessing the quality of online deliberative group meetings and for them to apply these criteria to the empirical material. In the workshop, firstly, the proposed criteria were discussed. Secondly, ways of operationalising some of them were compared. Thirdly, based on their newly acquired practical knowledge, the students conducted an analysis of excerpts of recordings and transcriptions of online debates from debates involving students from Warsaw universities. The results of the analysis were presented and discussed together in class.
Workshop entitled. “The use of online platforms in moderated debates”.
In this workshop, students will learn about tools that support moderated debates on the Internet. They will select and compare these tools according to their functions. We will consider how the differences between the tools can condition the debate. We will carry out a series of experimental debates using different tools in order to collect material to assess this impact. Students will be involved in the preparation of the discussion materials and the discussion scenario, moderation, formulation of evaluation questions and evaluation of the impact of the tools used on the debate.