Designing a Fitting Scope & Depth

Description

A remit is the specific question the assembly is working on. Remits are often set by commissioning authorities and involve policymakers, stakeholders, scientists, and communities of interest. Although it requires more time, assembly members can improve the quality and legitimacy of the remit (e.g., Scotland (2020), Denmark (2020-21, Brussels(2022–ongoing)). Narrow, policy-focused remits can lead to actionable recommendations, but limit creativity, ethical reflection and transformative potential as discussions gravitate towards technical fixes. Broad remits allow big-picture thinking, future visioning across systems, and attention to justice and interconnections, but risk overwhelming participants and producing hard-to-implement outcomes. Sometimes there might be a need to balance what’s claimed: in some cases, the main impact may be to spark public debate rather than produce concrete recommendations.

A useful middle path is a dilemma- or scenario-based remit, which helps participants explore trade-offs without losing focus. Ultimately, something important should be at stake, the question must be politically open, and the decision must not already be predetermined. This openness should be communicated through language, images, and examples (CLIMAS toolbox). Clear, straightforward and neutrally phrased, yet ambitious, questions can help participants feel trusted, motivated, and produce transformative outcomes.

How-To & Examples

The CLIMAS Checklist For Organising Climate Assemblies recommends: 1.Start from a real problem policy makers struggle to resolve; 2, Check for real trade-offs between competing goals (e.g. climate protection, costs, land use, social justice; 3. Formulate one clear guiding question to guide the assembly; 4. Test political openness to ensure outcomes are not predetermined; 5. Test public relevance to assess whether issues matter in everyday life and are motivating motivation; 6. Explain limits upfront to avoid false expectations

Key questions for commissioners are outlined in KNOCA Guidance for Setting the Remit and Preparing for a Climate Assembly (2.4, p.14); Examples of questions and framing of climate change can be found in CAST Guidelines (p.12-14)

The table in the guide Organizing Communal Citizen Assemblies (GER, p.43) provides an overview on desired types of outcomes of CAs on the basis of which a CCA can develop either general solutions (visions, principles, guiding principles) or very concrete courses of action (proposed measures, draft resolutions). by mehrdemokratie.de

Dilemma-based framing (e.g. Catalonia) focuses on real conflicts rather than technical questions, strengthening ownership while requiring careful design. CLIMAS, Deliberativa

Literature & Sources

Brancaforte, S., & Pfeffer, J. (2022). Setting the remit for a climate assembly: Key questions for commissioners. KNOCA Briefing.

Devaney, L., Brereton, P., Torney, D., Coleman, M., Boussalis, C., & Coan, T. G. (2020). Environmental literacy and deliberative democracy: A content analysis of written submissions to the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on climate change. Climatic Change, 162(4), 1965–1984. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02707-4

Willis, R., Curato, N., & Smith, G. (2022). Deliberative democracy and the climate crisis. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Climate Change, 13(2), e759-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.759