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Sector Applications · 30 projects
30 Collective Decidement Projects for Public Governance
A collection of focused projects designed to define public problems more precisely, bring together stakeholder knowledge, evaluate policy alternatives, and strengthen implementation. Each project addresses one clearly defined stage of collective decision-making—from problem framing and public value to impact, equity, monitoring, and learning. These projects complement but do not replace statutory procedures, the mandates of representative institutions, or required impact assessments.
01
Defining the Public Problem
01What problem are residents and stakeholders actually experiencing?
Project task: Contribute ideas on specific experiences and circumstances that can help determine whether the institutional definition of the problem reflects people's everyday reality.
Discuss this project →02Which observed conditions are symptoms, and which underlying causes sustain the problem?
Project task: Contribute ideas that distinguish visible consequences from structural, behavioral, institutional, or environmental causes.
Discuss this project →03Who is most affected by this problem, and what do we still need to understand about its impact?
Project task: Contribute ideas on affected groups, forms of impact, and important knowledge gaps that should be addressed before selecting a course of action.
Discuss this project →04Which untested assumptions underpin the current definition of the problem?
Project task: Contribute ideas on assumptions about people's behavior, needs, institutional operations, or causal relationships that should be made explicit and examined.
Discuss this project →05What public-value outcome would show that we are addressing the problem meaningfully?
Project task: Contribute ideas on outcomes that matter to residents and society and could define the intended change more clearly.
Discuss this project →02
Stakeholder Knowledge and Participation
06Which groups' knowledge and experience are still missing from this decision?
Project task: Contribute ideas on residents, communities, professionals, service providers, and other groups whose perspectives should strengthen the evidence and knowledge base for the decision.
Discuss this project →07How do different groups understand the same public problem?
Project task: Contribute ideas on different explanations, interests, and experiences so that conflicting perspectives, as well as areas of agreement, become visible.
Discuss this project →08Which local and practical insights are not reaching decision-makers?
Project task: Contribute ideas on knowledge held by residents, local authorities, frontline staff, and partners that is relevant to the decision but remains unheard or fragmented.
Discuss this project →09What conditions would enable people to participate meaningfully and safely?
Project task: Contribute ideas on accessibility, information, timing, representation, facilitation, and feedback that could reduce barriers to participation and power imbalances.
Discuss this project →10How can we make the link between consultation input and the final policy decision traceable?
Project task: Contribute ideas on transparent traceability showing how stakeholder input influenced the alternatives, selection criteria, and final decision.
Discuss this project →03
Policy Alternatives and Decision Criteria
11What different approaches could achieve the same public outcome?
Project task: Contribute ideas on regulatory, service, communication, partnership, financial, and other approaches without limiting discussion to the proposal already under consideration.
Discuss this project →12Which criteria should we use to compare policy alternatives?
Project task: Contribute ideas on clear criteria such as impact, equity, cost, feasibility, timing, administrative burden, and public trust.
Discuss this project →13What are the most important trade-offs embedded in each alternative?
Project task: Contribute ideas on what each alternative would strengthen, what it would require, and how it would distribute benefits or burdens across groups.
Discuss this project →14Which combination of measures should we consider instead of relying on a single solution?
Project task: Contribute ideas on complementary measures that could address different causes together and reduce the limitations of any single measure.
Discuss this project →15Which alternatives would remain sound if key assumptions changed?
Project task: Contribute ideas on how well different options would hold up under alternative future scenarios, resource constraints, and changing public needs.
Discuss this project →04
Impact, Equity, and Unintended Consequences
16Who would benefit most from the proposed decision, and who would bear the greatest burden?
Project task: Contribute ideas on how benefits, costs, obligations, and risks would be distributed among different residents, places, organizations, and future generations.
Discuss this project →17Which access or equal-opportunity barriers could the proposed decision create?
Project task: Contribute ideas on potential geographic, physical, digital, language, financial, or administrative barriers for different groups.
Discuss this project →18Which unintended consequences or distorted incentives could the selected measure create?
Project task: Contribute ideas on side effects, adaptive behavior, and incentives that could weaken the intended result or create new problems.
Discuss this project →19How would the proposed decision affect vulnerable or underrepresented groups?
Project task: Contribute ideas on differentiated impacts for groups whose needs, resources, or ability to participate are often less visible.
Discuss this project →20Which safeguards could reduce negative impacts?
Project task: Contribute ideas on proportionate safeguards, exemptions, support, transition periods, or monitoring mechanisms that could reduce foreseeable risks.
Discuss this project →05
Implementation and Cross-Institutional Coordination
21Where could the selected policy break down as it moves from decision to practice?
Project task: Contribute ideas on specific implementation stages where unclear rules, limited capacity, insufficient resources, or weak coordination could undermine the intended impact.
Discuss this project →22Which implementation responsibilities need to be allocated more clearly?
Project task: Contribute ideas on the roles of institutions, units, and partners, including decision rights, interdependencies, and escalation paths.
Discuss this project →23Which capacity and resource gaps would most constrain implementation?
Project task: Contribute ideas on workforce, capability, data, technology, funding, and partnership needs that should be assessed before implementation.
Discuss this project →24How can we explain the decision so residents and implementers understand what is changing?
Project task: Contribute ideas on clear messages, information channels, service navigation, and answers to common questions for different audiences.
Discuss this project →25Which early implementation actions would help us learn and remove obstacles sooner?
Project task: Contribute ideas on sequenced implementation stages, short feedback cycles, and refinements that preserve legal and institutional responsibilities.
Discuss this project →06
Monitoring, Learning, and Adaptation
26Which indicators would show meaningful outcomes rather than activity alone?
Project task: Contribute ideas on outcome, quality, access, equity, and trust indicators that would complement administrative activity data.
Discuss this project →27Which data, professional insights, and resident feedback should we consider together?
Project task: Contribute ideas on different sources of evidence and how to combine them so progress is not judged by one metric or a single institutional perspective.
Discuss this project →28Which early signals would show that the policy is not working as intended?
Project task: Contribute ideas on quantitative and qualitative signs that could reveal implementation gaps, negative impacts, or declining trust in time to respond.
Discuss this project →29When and against which criteria should we review the selected decision?
Project task: Contribute ideas on clear review points, criteria for continuing, adjusting, or ending the measure, and responsibility for applying those criteria.
Discuss this project →30How can lessons from implementation become institutional memory?
Project task: Contribute ideas on ways to document, discuss, and transfer lessons across teams, institutions, and terms of office so they inform future decisions.
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How many people take part?
The practical minimum for one problem area is eight participants with relevant knowledge. The method is most reliable with 15–20 or more people whose experience and expertise complement one another.
Which question should be addressed first?
In a short conversation, we can assess the situation, identify the right participant group, and determine how the project fits into a broader decision-making sequence.