How Deliberative Experiences Shape Subjective Outcomes: A Study of Fifteen Minipublics from 2010–2018

In the twenty-first century, deliberative democracy has grown exponentially both as a subject of scholarship and a public practice. Though governments and civic organizations have sponsored thousands of deliberative forums across the globe, it remains unclear how strongly participants’ experiences of deliberative processes connect to their sense of satisfaction, knowledge gains, and opinion change. In addition, the dearth of comparative studies makes it unclear whether those process-outcome relationships vary depending on the context of a deliberative event. To address those questions, we analyzed survey data collected at fifteen Citizens’ Initiative Reviews held from 2010–2018. The findings show strong relationships between process and outcome perceptions, though weaker linkages to opinion change. The duration, official authorization, and ideological diversity of participants also shaped many process and outcome measures, with the duration of process and ideological diversity moderating even some process-outcome linkages. The results support the argument that the subjective experience of deliberation is important for achieving its aims.