Bringing simplicity to sortition
A democratic lottery – a “sortition” – is a gold standard foundation for citizen engagement and deliberation.
Democratic lotteries can be technically complex to implement.
There are few public resources available to support them.
We are changing that with OpenDLP.
How does OpenDLP work?
OpenDLP is an online service that makes it easier to run democratic lotteries for deliberative processes. It is transparent, auditable, and built for democratic institutions.
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Set targets
Decide what the panel should look like, in terms of age, gender, education level, opinion, etc. The room is diverse and broadly reflects the wider population.
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Register interest
Create a registration page that matches your targets and also collects contact and consent details. Anyone invited can then register their interest.
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Select and replace
OpenDLP selects a group of people that matches your targets in a fair way. If anyone drops out, it’s easy to select replacements. OpenDLP will help you make changes if it’s not possible to hit your targets.
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Reporting and transparency
OpenDLP logs key activity, prompts users to explain project changes, and produces reports. The software is open-source.
Support from experts
Experienced Sortition Foundation staff are available to support you at every stage of your process.
Key benefits
Fair by design
Selection of diverse, representative groups rather than “the usual suspects”, in a way that gives people a fair chance to take part.
Reduces workload
Less juggling of spreadsheets and tools, so fewer opportunities for error.
Transparent
Dashboards and a log of what was done, so you can show your process was sound.
Proven
Built by the Sortition Foundation and Sortition Europe, who have delivered 300+ lotteries around the world. OpenDLP has already been used for 30+ lotteries and counting.
Keeps your data secure
OpenDLP is GDPR compliant and stores its data in Europe. You can choose to use anonymised data, and only use the parts of OpenDLP that you want to.
Who is OpenDLP for?
OpenDLP can be used by any organisation that wants to run its own citizen engagement processes. Or, Sortition Foundation can use OpenDLP on your behalf to run your democratic lotteries.
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Local and national governments
You are embedding and institutionalising your own deliberative engagement processes with citizens, and want to take ownership of the whole lottery process.
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Practitioners
You regularly run deliberative engagement processes on behalf of commissioners, and may already run the democratic lottery component yourself, or want to move into this space.