For more than a decade, AmericaSpeaks has used its 21st Century Town Meeting® model to bring together more than 130,000 citizens in deliberations about critical policy issues, and then connect the results to decision-makers.

Steps in the process:

1. Demographic polling: Using the key pads, an assessment of the whole group is done and displayed in the room.

2. Discussions take place in groups at round tables

3. Groups report back themes using a laptop computer.

4. The results are prioritize by a theme group who receive all inputs through a computer network.

5. Iterative Cycles of discussions to come up with suggestions to move forward.

Critical success factors

- Every voice is at the table

- Decision makers involved at each step

- Right content, structure and process

- Shared priorities

- Links to action

- Sustaining citizen engagement

AmericaSpeaks has been engaged in processes involving from 100 to 20000 citizens. The biggest meeting at one time hosted 4,600 people. They consider it important to work upfront with the client, mostly local politicians and administrations to make sure that the agenda is open and citizens have the opportunity to raise their voices on issues that matter to them. They have also linked several sites that worked simultaneuously by webcast technologies.

Have a look at a video that shows the approach of AmericaSpeaks:

The principles of AmericaSpeaks reminds of other large scale processes, in particular of Future Search Technology and World Café. The big difference is obviously the application of technology to help document discussions and priorities. Budgetwise? A process involving 4,000 citizens of New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina costed about 2.6 US$.

AmericaSpeaks has an international arm called Global Voices.