Deliberation is a problem-solving group discussion that allows stakeholders with different backgrounds, interests, and values to listen, understand, potentially persuade, and ultimately come to reasoned, informed, and public-spirited collective decisions (Abelson et al., 2003). Deliberation can be expressed through different methods, such as citizens’ juries, deliberative forums, consensus conferences, etc.
Here we provide a Deliberative Processes Checklist and guiding questions for an After Action Review.
| Deliberative Processes | Tasks | Materials Generated |
| 1) Identifying a collective decision that needs to be made and framing questions | Appropriate framing: | |
| Select/highlight aspects to be presented in deliberative forum | List of highlights to be presented | |
Clarify and present the range of available perspectives
|
Summary document presenting perspectives, problems, arguments, information, and positions | |
| 2) Identifying stakeholders that all need to be able to participate as peers in decision making | Identify participating members of Research team and Management team | List of attendees from Research team and Management team |
| Identify method for selecting participants
Identify ad hoc participants (representatives from local government, non-health sectors, and broader general public, including community organizations that represent vulnerable subgroups) Create invitation |
Method for selecting ad hoc participants | |
| List of ad hoc participants | ||
| Invitation | ||
| 3) Identifying and providing the appropriate background materials to inform decisions | Create reader-friendly overview of program and local partnership
Create clear description of the process that will be used during the forum Identify method for selecting participants Create concise overview of range of perspectives that need to be considered Write reader-friendly summary for academic literature |
Summary documents |
| Summary document – chosen forum process | ||
| Description of method for selecting participants | ||
| Summaries of academic literature | ||
| 4) Facilitating listening during the deliberative process itself | Select facilitative approach/strategy | Description of approach/strategy |
| Other relevant material | ||
| 5) Facilitating the process of reaching a collective decision | Select decision making approach | Description of decision making approach
Ex. Agreement Certainty Matrix |
| 6) Facilitating learning about the completed deliberative process | After Action Review:
|
After Action Review applied to: |
| 1) Identifying collective decision and framing questions | ||
| 2) Identifying stakeholders | ||
| 3) Identifying background material | ||
| 4) Facilitative approach/strategy | ||
| 5) Decision making strategy |
