Imagine 40 people, all from different walks of life, diverse in age, gender, social class, ethnicity, approaches to learning and with different types of neurodiversity. They may live in the city or in market towns or come from more rural areas. Some travel a lot by car, some mainly cycle, others walk, some use trains and buses, others do a mix of several of those things and others can’t drive or cycle or walk. Some care deeply about climate change and air pollution, while others are more concerned that people who have caring responsibilities, regular hospital appointments, or small businesses can get where they need to as cheaply and directly as possible. Some of them worry about all those things and some have never thought much about any of it. Now imagine you put them all in a room together and ask them to agree on solutions to transport policy: a thorny issue that divides communities, generates inflammatory newspaper headlines, sparks ferocious online brawls and prompts criticisms of those who make decisions. It would never work! There’s no way all those people could agree on ways forward… is there?
The Oxfordshire citizens’ assembly on transport and travel surely gave the lie to that. Over three packed weekends and three evenings it brought together just such a group of people, selected by democratic lottery, to get to know each other, learn and deliberate to address the key question:
“What steps do we need to take so Oxfordshire’s transport system enables our county’s health, economy and environment to thrive in 2050?”
I was delighted to be invited to join the project team that supported the planning and design of this assembly, alongside council officers and the independent delivery organisation, MutualGain.
The assembly members heard evidence from a wide range of speakers who brought professional expertise as well as lived experience to inform their discussions. They listened to and questioned local businesses, representatives of big employers, citizens with disabilities and health needs, carers, local campaigners and civil society organisations, researchers in democracy, transport and health, providers of community transport, bus and rail, road safety experts and council officers. The speakers were chosen with input from an independent advisory board, which also reviewed the scope and overarching question for the assembly, ensured the evidence was balanced and oversaw the process as a whole.
Following the extensive programme of learning, and with the support of a team of skilled facilitators, assembly members deliberated together to identify priorities for action and policies to achieve these priorities. The assembly culminated in the production of 16 recommendations that gained agreement from at least 80% of these very diverse citizens, plus a further four that didn’t quite reach that threshold. These recommendations aim to help Oxfordshire County Council, the body that commissioned the assembly, to reach their ambitious targets to reduce death and injury on the roads, while lowering greenhouse gas emissions from transport, in fair and effective ways.
Decision-makers from the council attended the final Sunday morning session to receive the recommendations. Senior politicians, including the Leader of the council, the Deputy Leader of the council and cabinet member for climate change, environment & future generations, and the Labour and Co-operative party Group Leader were present (as a member of the advisory board), together with officers including the Deputy Chief Executive, the Director of Environment and Highways and others. They all listened intently as the recommendations were announced, then had the opportunity to ask questions about the recommendations, all of which were readily answered by impressively well-informed assembly members.
Not only did the assembly develop policy recommendations, it also took the citizens involved on an intensive learning journey through the world of transport and how it intersects with health, the environment, the economy and safety. In addition, they learned a great deal about their fellow citizens by spending 45 hours in constructive conversations with people many of whom they were otherwise unlikely to have come across in our modern, siloed day-to-day. These interactions are largely wherein the extraordinary potential of citizens’ assemblies lies.
This was the third transport-related citizens’ assembly or jury I have been involved in, building on GCHU’s Street Voice citizens’ jury on transport, climate change and health and the associated deliberative democracy workshop run for Oxfordshire officers and elected members, and the Southampton climate citizens’ assembly.
The three were each quite different, but one thing they have in common is their capacity to move people from offering reactive, ‘top of head’ individual preferences, to collaborating to seek informed and considered solutions that will work best for all. The result is a group of informed, energised citizens who put their hearts and souls into seeking practical solutions that work for everyone. It’s a very different way for citizens to engage with the policy process than either voting once every few years, responding to an online consultation, signing a petition or, for the more politically engaged and those with the privilege and confidence to do so, lobbying their politicians or talking directly to a council meeting – experiences that can too often feel ineffectual and tokenistic. Although citizens’ assemblies require a substantial commitment of their time and effort, assembly members relish the opportunity to contribute to decisions that affect their communities, and often leave more hopeful and strongly motivated to become more active, engaged citizens.
The Oxfordshire Citizens’ Assembly is forward-looking in its commitment to inviting the assembly members to build on what they have learned by engaging with the council in ongoing ways. This citizens’ assembly, and the follow-up work that is promised, signals a change in the way local decision-makers can engage with citizens in Oxfordshire. It points to a future where citizens share power, build capacity and civic engagement, and develop trust and understanding between community members, as well as between the community and the local authority. Where there is action in response to recommendations and ongoing accountability, not only do citizens’ assemblies offer ways to develop better policy, they can pave the way to healthier democracies and improved social cohesion.
The recommendations from the Oxfordshire County Council Citizens’ Assembly on transport and travel, held between 8th February and 16 March 2025, can be found here.
Alison Chisholm is a Research Associate at GCHU and a researcher in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences.