DEMOCRACY TALKS:
FACILITATION GUIDE
THE PROGRAM
Democracy Talks (DT) is a series of discussions designed to engage citizens in politics.
Delivered in partnership with community groups across Canada, DT offers a structured
and accessible space in which people can share their ideas and aspirations for the
Canadian political system, and the role they‟d like to play within it.
WHAT PARTICIPANTS GAIN
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An opportunity to share views and ideas about politics in Canada
An increased ability to connect their issues of concern to politics
A chance to learn how to take political action on an issue of concern to them
An opportunity to meet and work with interesting people
A chance to be part of a national project on political engagement
THE DISCUSSION
This facilitated discussion lasts approximately 1.5 to 2 hours and can include between 8
and 10 participants.
FACILITATOR CHECKLIST
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Pre-DT questionnaire (completed in advance)
Consent form/Parental consent form
Flipchart or white board, pens and markers
“Key take-aways” form
“Representative Democracy Is…” handout
“Making your Move” handout
Citizens‟ Panel sign-up sheet
Post-DT questionnaire
BRIEF OUTLINE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction
Issues and Active Citizenship
An Ideal Democracy Is…
Partner Questions or “Making your Move”
Debrief and Conclusion
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Section 1 – Introduction (15 minutes)
Facilitator introduces him/herself, Samara‟s Democracy Talks program and the community partner
involved and explains how the discussion will work. The facilitator should clearly explain that the
purpose and expected outcomes of the DT session are to:
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Create space for participants to discuss politics
Generate ideas to improve political engagement
Discuss how ideas can be applied to real-life/local issues
The facilitator should also highlight the following points before beginning the discussion:
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Emphasize that the discussion is part of a national project – not just a one-off.
Establish ground rules for dialogue-type discussion (eg. listen, even if you disagree; pass if
you're not comfortable responding; facilitator‟s role to ensure everyone can speak, etc.).
Be explicit that the general discussion will culminate an action-oriented activity.
Question
1.
Facilitator guide
What is your name and what are you hoping to gain from today‟s
discussion?
Roundtable of
introductions and
responses.
Section 2 – Issues and Active Citizenship (20 minutes)
This section invites participants to identify an issue of concern in their day-to-day lives and consider
how they might address it through a political process. The goal is to help participants draw the
connection between the personal and the political, and identify ways they can approach their concern.
Question
Facilitator guide
Turn to the person next to you, and for the next 2 to 3 minutes,
brainstorm: what does an „active citizen‟ look like to you, and do
you consider yourselves active citizens?
Regroup to share
responses from each
pair.
3.
In terms of your day-to-day life, what's an example of an issue that
you care about or are concerned with?
Keep general; see
what they say and
whether a connection
to politics is made.
Note concerns on
board.
4.
What‟s an action or a decision you‟ve taken to try and address this
concern? Why did you choose to pursue it in the way that you did?
What happened?
Alternative question: Have you taken any action to address this
concern, why or why not?
2.
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5.
How could the government or political leaders/politicians help you
to take action or respond to this issue?
Note suggestions on
board.
Section 3 – An Ideal Democracy Is... (20 minutes)
This section encourages participants to brainstorm their definition of a healthy political system and to
consider their role within that system. Questions explore the general theme: what does an ideal
democracy look like to you?
Question
Facilitator guide
6.
Thinking of the concerns just discussed, what are the aspects of
Canadian democracy that could better support/improve your
experience/efforts?
7.
Looking at your “Representative Democracy Is...” handout, what
three qualities do you think are most important in an ideal
healthy democracy? Circle the three.
8.
Now, from those three, choose the one attribute/aspect that you
feel is the MOST important. Going around the table, tell us which
one you picked and why it was most important to you.
Probing: How does this list compare to that made from
suggestions in question 5? What do you think of the
differences/similarities between your top choices?
9.
Thinking of this attribute, and thinking back to your idea of an
“active citizen,” how would you describe YOUR role in this ideal
democracy? Probing: What/who is needed to facilitate this?
Take note of ideas.
Ask participants to put
a star, “#1”, or other
distinguishing mark
next to the single
attribute they feel is
MOST important.
Note barriers that
emerge in this
discussion.
Section 4 – Option 1: Partner Questions (20 minutes)
For this section, community partners are invited to contribute questions that will help generate contextspecific insight around a particular issue, program, policy or election-related goal. These can take the
form of open-ended questions, or may follow the guided activity outlined below.
Community partners are asked to make their choice and submit their questions one week in advance of
the Democracy Talks session.
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Option 2: “Making your Move” (40 minutes)
THE OBJECTIVE This group exercise will help participants think through a problem and strategize in
teams on how to effectively approach it. The exercise will consider:
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an issue of concern in the community
the qualities of a healthy democracy just discussed
ways of applying concepts of citizenship to political participation
THE ISSUE TOPIC(S) will be determined:
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by the partner organization in advance, in coordination with Samara or the facilitator, and/or
by participants during the DT at the start of Section 4
SMALL GROUPS will be formed by the facilitator once a topic or topics have been agreed upon in the
larger group, and the facilitator will highlight the three main questions below to guide the breakouts:
Question
Facilitator guide
What is the specific change/outcome you hope to achieve in regards
to your concern? (ie. goals)
What are the different formal and/or informal political channels
available to you for contributing to this outcome?
Who (locally, provincially, nationally, etc.) needs to be involved to
help you get closer to your goal? (ie. your stakeholders)
10.
As an additional discussion/facilitation tool, the facilitator may
propose breaking down the groups’ brainstorm into the following
“steps”( see “Making your Move” handout):
These three questions
will be made visible on a
white board or flipchart to
serve as a guide for their
brainstorm.
Participants are
encouraged to use the
markers and pads of
paper to map out their
ideas.
1.) Identify your issue
2.) Define your goal
3.) Your stakeholders
4.) Action steps
5.) Project name
Section 5 – Debrief and Conclusion (15 minutes)
Reconvened into the larger group, participants will be asked share their action plans and discuss what
worked and what didn‟t. Then, the facilitator will invite participants to join the Citizens‟ Panel and ask
them to complete the post-discussion questionnaire or, if they completed the pre-discussion
questionnaire in session, notify participants that a follow-up questionnaire will be sent by email.
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Question
11.
12.
13.
14.
Facilitator guide
In making this plan, what were the main challenges? What were
the rewards? Is this plan something you will pursue when you
leave this discussion group? Why or why not?
Appointed group
member to share plan.
Based on today‟s discussion and workshop, in just a few words,
what is a change you‟d like to see happen in the next five years
that would make democracy in Canada stronger?
Write list of answers.
Samara would like to invite you to join our Citizens‟ Panel, a
network of past DT participants who wish to stay involved with
the project by engaging in follow-up discussions, sharing
feedback on the project‟s findings and connecting with other
participants across the country. This will not necessarily relate to
the community-specific issue addressed in the workshop but the
broader goal of increasing engagement.
What did you like best about today‟s discussion? What did you
learn? Any questions?
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Direct participants to
sign-up sheet on table.
Distribute follow-up
questionnaires to
participants and collect
before thanking and
saying goodbye to
participants.
DEMOCRACY TALKS:
MAKING YOUR MOVE
This section will explore how the political system can be used to address issues of concern to
Canadians. How can you be a part of a solution, and who do you need to help you? By making a
plan, you and your teammates will be able to identify some of the political and non-political
options available.
Democracy Talks location: _______________________ Date: __________________________
Team Members: ______________________________________________________________
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IDENTIFY YOUR ISSUE
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DEFINE YOUR GOAL
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YOUR STAKEHOLDERS
Identify your issue. What‟s the problem you‟re concerned about? Try to capture this in a
single sentence, keeping in mind a few key questions: What causes the problem? What
are its effects on the community? What do people affected by the problem want done?
In one sentence, write a specific and achievable goal relating to the issue at hand.
Who needs to be involved in your action and how will you reach them? Eg. School
board trustee, MP, business leader, local non-profit organization, neighbours. Write the
names or people or organizations in your community that could help you, and ideas for
how to contact them.
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ACTION STEPS
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PROJECT NAME
What are some of the steps you can take towards your goal, and who will execute
them? Eg. Jill will organize a petition, Harish will go door-to-door, Jasmine will be the
spokesperson. Write down the different steps of your action plan, explaining how it will
work. Then, write down who in your group will be responsible for what task.
Invent a name for your project that captures the issue and/or goal you‟re working
toward.
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DEMOCRACY TALKS:
REPRESENTATIVE
DEMOCRACY IS…
Representative democracy in Canada is
Open/Transparent
Accountable
Representative of its citizens
Efficient
Fair
Inclusive of all citizens
Comprehensible/Understandable
Accessible
Participatory/Citizens are able to take part
Relevant
Equal
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DEMOCRACY TALKS:
FACILITATORS’ KEY TAKE-AWAYS
This form is to be used as a guide for Democracy Talks facilitators and note-takers to
capture key take-aways and lessons from the discussion group. Partners are asked to
share these findings with Samara using any combination of typed notes, photos of notes
and words written on flipcharts, audio recordings and even video clips. Get creative!
Please email these materials to Fiona O‟Connor at [email protected]
Democracy Talks location:
Community partner:
Facilitator:
Date:
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION
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What were people‟s reasons for attending Democracy Talks?
What did they hope to get out of participating?
SECTION 2 ISSUES AND ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP
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How did participants describe active citizenship and/or their role as active citizens?
What were some of the issues of concern participants described?
How had participants responded to those concerns, if at all?
Did they see a role for government in helping them address those concerns?
SECTION 3 AN IDEAL DEMOCRACY
Please collect participants‟ completed words list handout and send them to Samara.
 What did they choose as their #1 attribute and what were the reasons for their
choice?
 What were the trends and/or tensions between participants‟ choice of words?
 How did they describe their role in an ideal democracy?
SECTION 4 PARTNER QUESTION (OPTION 1)
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How did participants respond to questions posed by community partners?
What were the barriers and opportunities identified in the conversation?
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SECTION 4 MAKING YOUR MOVE (OPTION 2)
For this section, please submit the completed “Making your move” handouts or copies of
the groups‟ worksheets to Samara.
• What were the concerns identified?
• What changes did people want to see?
• What kinds of activities did they identify as necessary for achieving their goals?
• What were the barriers and/or opportunities participants identified in the process?
SECTION 5 DEBRIEF AND CONCLUSION
Please submit the completed post-DT questionnaires to Samara.
 What did participants say about the discussion?
 What were the main challenges cited? What were the rewards?
 General feedback/reactions to the DT session?
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