Wallace, Helen

The issue of framing and consensus conferences

Originally, the consensus conference was exclusively composed of experts convened to produce a detailed and comprehensive analysis of a specific technology. However in the 1980s, this widely used model was adapted to include a panel of non-expert citizens who would add a 'lay' voice to the process of analysis. Despite their popularity, the author warns of the limitations of the consensus conference when viewed as a form of deliberative citizen participation.