Citizen Engagement in Evidence-informed Policy-making - Launch of the WHO Overview Document and Mini-Publics Guide

Citizens have a vital role to play in shaping health policies that affect their lives. By engaging them in evidence-informed deliberation, policy-makers can gain insights into their perspectives, preferences, and experiences. This can lead to more effective, equitable, and acceptable health policies, especially in times of crisis.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently published two new resources to support citizen engagement in evidence-informed decision-making in the health field. The first one is an overview document that introduces the concept and principles of citizen engagement and its benefits and challenges. The second one is a guide on how to organize mini-publics, a specific form of citizen engagement that involves a representative sample of citizens in structured and facilitated discussions on a policy issue.

Mini-publics are forums that include a cross-section of the population selected through civic lottery to participate in evidence-informed deliberation in order to inform policy and action. They can be organized for a range of purposes and at different stages of the policy process, such as generating policy ideas, assessing options, designing interventions, or evaluating policy action. They can also address dilemmas, uncertainties, and trade-offs that arise in complex and contested policy issues.

In this webinar, you will learn more about these two innovative resources and how they can help you design and implement mini-publics in your context. You will also have the opportunity to interact with the authors and the external editorial board of the documents, as well as hear about their experiences and lessons learned from applying mini-publics in different settings and stages of the policy process.

Don’t miss this chance to discover how to engage citizens in evidence-informed health policy-making using mini-publics. Register now and join us on 29 February 2024!