8. Time for Learning and Deliberation

So participants have space to learn, reflect and change their minds - leading to better collective decisions.

Links to Principles: Well-designed Deliberation

Core

The non-negotiable minimum

Time proportionate to the complexity and stakes of the question, allowing adequate time for all aspects of deliberation (learning, weighing up different perspectives, and collective decision-making) — not rushed to fit logistics. Discussion time proportionally exceeds information-giving time across the process. The time provided must be sufficient for this sequence of activities to take place: processes of less than 10 hours should not normally be considered sufficient to meet this standard.

This is a floor, not a target: many established mini-public formats for example Citizens’ Assemblies already run well beyond it with a floor of 30 hours. Online sessions are broken into smaller chunks (around 2–3 hours) to avoid participant and facilitator burnout, with time between sessions for individual learning and reflection wherever feasible.

Desirable

Extra depth where resources allow

Engagement isn’t limited to live workshops - asynchronous methods (e.g. online communities participants can dip in and out of) can extend deliberation meaningfully. Small groups kept genuinely small (around 6–8 people; smaller groups may suit especially sensitive topics).

Stretch

Context-specific, deeper power sharing, sustaining and embedding

Extended or longitudinal design (multiple sessions over weeks or months) for highly complex questions.