YoCo and Demos Combined Choice pilot
Between October 2021 to January 2022, Demos and YoCo (York Central Co-Owned) worked together to pilot a new democratic process, using the ‘Combined Choice’ tool developed by Demos. Combined Choice works by inviting participants to collaborate on alternative proposals and allows patricians to support one proposal. YoCo was delighted to work with Demos on this important project. It gave us a new impetus to turn our energy and ideas into a coherent and deliverable community plan for York Central and gave Demos a chance to test this new idea. Both Demos and YoCo gained useful learning from the pilot. We have set out the details of the pilot, and our findings, in more detail below:
Proposals: The Combined Choice process starts with an initial proposal, in the case of the YoCo pilot, we used the Outline Planning Consent for York Central as the starting point. This encompassed housing, business and economic development, movement routes, and green spaces. The multi-faceted nature of the Outline Planning Consent presented a challenge as participants struggled to produce comprehensive alternative plans. This could be improved by simplifying the initial proposal and organising in-person events with more facilitation.
Facilitation: The pilot highlighted the importance of facilitation. YoCo took on the role of facilitators but given our clearly-stated aim of developing a YoCo Community Plan for York Central, we couldn’t provide facilitation in a neutral or disinterested way. In the future, dedicated, neutral facilitators would help participants understand the process and develop alternative proposals.
Decision makers: The public conversation about York Central has been going on for some time, and many people and groups have already contributed extensively, both through the My York Central public engagement process that led to YoCo’s formation, and through statutory consultation. This meant many people and groups were sceptical about the value of contributing more time and energy to York Central – especially as the process was being initiated by a community group and not by the landowners and decision makers. As a result, many stakeholders were not interested in doing the work that the Combined Choice process required. If the process was initiated by decision makers, or there was a very clear links to decision makers the level of participation may improve.
Reflections: Overall, the Combined Choice pilot has been productive, providing useful insights for both Demos and YoCo. In particular, it the pilot provided a focused period of collaboration which brought citizens into the process and led to the creation of a comprehensive and coherent community plan for York Central as an alternative to the master plan proposed the landowners.
To read more see the Demos blog on Combined Choice.