Policy impact of local democratic innovations: Lessons from Gdańsk Citizens’ Assemblies

Democratic innovations based on random selection and deliberation are claimed to have a potential to heal the current political and legal system or even transform it towards a more democratic and participatory direction (Carson, Martin 1999, Gastil, Richards 2013, Gastil, Wright 2019). Regardless of their role, these innovations should have a certain impact on the policy-making process (Crosby et al. 1986, Rowe, Frezer 2000, Gutmann, Thompson 2004, Gastil, et al. 2012). One of the popular democratic innovations is the citizens' assembly (CA). It is difficult, however, to determine their actual impact on public policies. Since it remains unknown what factors impede or expedite implementation of their recommendations, it is also hard to say which elements of CAs should be improved to increase their impact. Therefore, the paper provides findings on citizens’ assemblies’ (CAs’) policy impact and the reasons for (non)implementation of their recommendations. Besides, it contributes to the studies on methods of assessing mini-publics’ impact. The research is based on the case study of three CAs, organised in Gdansk, Poland, in 2016–2018, and it was conducted with the use of a desk research and formal-legal analysis, and interviews with various actors participating in the CAs. The study shows that the CAs had a positive but not very strong policy impact, and have a potential to remain one of many participatory and advisory tools.