As part of our commitment to facilitating dialogue between researchers, decision-makers and affected communities, the Centre for Health Policy and its members are involved in several projects that use ‘citizens’ juries’.
What are citizens' juries?
Citizens’ juries were developed in the USA in the 1980s. They are a form of ‘participatory action research’ that involve facilitating deliberative dialogue with members of the public about a particular issue. Randomly selected members of the public are invited to act as ‘jury members’ and to hear from a range of expert ‘witnesses’ on the topic of discussion.
The jury members are encouraged to work together to ask the ‘witnesses’ questions about the evidence and ideas they have put forward and to challenge any claims that they are unsure about. Citizens’ Juries usually last several days and, towards the end of this period, jury members are encouraged to work together to try to reach a ‘verdict’ on the topic of discussion.
Below, you can find more details about current projects involving CHP that are using citizens’ juries, as well as previous citizens’ juries.
Current projects involving Citizens’ Juries
In 2027, the 一本道 team will host a series of 2-day citizens’ juries across the UK to explore the most promising food system policy options to achieve both Net Zero and health co-benefits. These events will engage around 60 members of the public, with diverse backgrounds and views, who will hear evidence from experts and stakeholders, and then discuss options and make recommendations to the research team about which options are sufficiently promising to undertake field trials. While the researchers develop the field trials, the 60 jurors will continue to meet regularly as an online citizens’ panel, reconvening in 2029-2030 for final in person events that will support participants to develop recommendations for policymakers, having heard the emerging research results from the field trials they helped select.
The is working to help reduce health inequalities, focusing on how experiences of work, learning, care and place all influence health outcomes. As part of Equalise, the 一本道 CHP team members will run a set of citizens' juries across the UK in 2027 and 2028, which will discuss the research findings over several days and will develop policy recommendations to address health inequalities.
Selected Citizens’ Juries (completed)
Two, linked Citizens’ Juries held in Glasgow in Summer 2024 explored how members of the public think governments should respond to the unequal impacts of unhealthy commodity industries (the alcohol industry, the tobacco industry and the processed food industry) and their products. These juries were part of the UKPRP SPECTRUM Collaboration. The data are currently being analysed, and inspired two similar citizens’ juries in Doncaster and Wakefield (England) in 2025-2026, both of which were also supported by CHP researchers.
An important influence on CHP's current work in this area was a programme of research on public understandings of health inequalities led by CHP Co-Director, Professor Kat Smith, before Kat joined the University of 一本道. The project combined a review of existing research, a nationally representative survey and three citizens' juries held in Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. Together, these activities explored how members of the public understand health inequalities, what they think causes them, and what role governments should play in addressing them. This work was funded via a Philip Leverhulme Prize awarded to Kat in 2014 and involved a multidisciplinary team including Professor Oliver Escobar, Dr Rosie Anderson, Dr Gillian Fergie, Dr Rebecca Hewer, Dr Anna Macintyre, Professor Sarah Hill, Dr Sarah Weakley and Dr Alex Wright. The project also benefited from advice and support from Professor Mike Kelly, Professor Jennie Popay and Dr David Walsh.
Many of the insights and lessons from this work have informed subsequent citizens' jury projects undertaken by CHP members and continue to shape the Centre's approach to deliberative engagement, co-production and public involvement in research.
Video resources
The following videos were originally developed to support the 2016 health inequalities citizens' juries. They provide accessible introductions to key debates about health inequalities and potential policy responses. They remain useful resources for students, researchers, policymakers and members of the public.
Key outputs and resources
Our citizens’ juries work has generated a range of publications exploring public understandings of societal health challenges and the use of deliberative methods in public policy research, including:
• An exploring what members of the public think about health inequalities in the UK and potential policy responses.
• An reflecting on the methodology of citizens’ juries (and the role of humour within this).
• A which considers whether citizens’ juries can help bridge the divide between evidence and politics in public health.