Shaping

our futures

At DemocracyCo we create opportunities for citizens to participate constructively in the decisions that matter to them. We support better decisions and policy-making, by advising governments and organisations on best-practice deliberative engagement processes, and by designing planning and facilitating respectful dialogue and collaboration.

With many years of national and international experience in deliberative democracy on complex issues, our award-winning team has earned a global reputation for tackling some of today’s toughest questions. We create the conditions for meaningful dialogue and foster the type of understanding and collaboration that creates powerful, lasting change.

Together

we are more

We know that done well, deliberative engagement has benefits that are profound and far-reaching:

Citizens who know that they can make a difference, and who believe that the government is for and with them
Kinder, more tolerant communities who understand the other’s perspective, even when they don’t agree
Societies that can thrive together, rather than being roadblocked by polarised factions
Communities that understand – and are more supportive of – the need for change
People who feel a sense of ownership and belonging in their communities

This isn’t achieved through lip service, nor quick-fix community consultations or one-off engagement events. It is achieved through genuine deliberation, with a commitment to taking action which honestly reflects the outcomes of that process.

Genuine deliberative engagement is DemocracyCo’s heartland. We are leaders in this space with a strong and proud pedigree of policy, politics, and facilitation of deliberative engagement, both in Australia and overseas.

Committed

to integrity

We believe that democracy is the cornerstone of a fair, kind and equitable world. And we believe that this requires a society where citizens are actively involved in the decisions that matter to them. We are frank and fearless, and committed to rigorous process, impartiality and transparency. We live and act our values every day, and support our clients to embrace them, too.

Our team combines policy knowledge and strategy with planning, training, analysis and hands-on facilitation skills. The ‘Co’ in our name stands for collaboration, for doing ‘with’. We work collaboratively with our clients and support them to do the same. We have passion, skill and experience and apply a strategic, approach which genuinely seeks to understand the needs and complexities of our clients and each situation.

Individually and as a team, democracy, fairness and progress are in our DNA. We are driven by:

Belief in and respect for everyone.

Equity as central to democracy

Science, evidence & rigorous process.

People as guardians of our planet.

Everybody

belongs

We create safe and inclusive spaces, where everyone is welcome. We include the greatest possible diversity of participants, in a way that suits them. We work hard to support everyone’s needs so that nobody is lost or overshadowed. We know that different people learn, experience, and contribute in different ways. Inclusion is an ongoing process of personal and organisational learning, and we are constantly updating our skills and understanding so that we can better support everybody to participate. Our team have training in mental health first aid, cultural awareness, non-violent communication and values framing.

As a trans person feeling vulnerable it’s very easy to feel that facilitators are just humouring me for the sake of looking inclusive, so it means a lot to me that you expressed a willingness to genuinely improve this part of the process.

Participant 2023

Our

team

Delivering a deliberative process requires diverse skills – from political astuteness, facilitation design, communications and data analysis & capability to deliver to warmth, connection and the ability to build trust and confidence in the process

Our people make our work, work! Meet them here…

Nonpartisan

& impartial

We are nonpartisan and impartial. We work collaboratively with our clients and support them to do the same. We use our combined skills in deliberative techniques, communications, policy-making and group facilitation to bring our clients and the communities they work with closer together.

Our clients tell us that one of their greatest challenges is building engagement into the policy-making process. Most policy-makers know that achieving sustainable reform requires them to bring stakeholders and community on the journey, however, change can all too often be derailed by poorly timed engagement processes, ill-suited methodology and overlooked stakeholders and community groups.

At DemocracyCo we support our clients to build democratic engagement into their policy and project development right from the outset, helping them to use the right engagement methods in the most impactful way, and at the right time. We do this by providing advice, training and by co-creating Engagement Roadmaps with our clients.

Past

work

It has been our pleasure and our privilege to support communities, governments and NGOs to tackle some of the most pressing and challenging environmental, peace-keeping and social issues of our day, including: