This report takes stock of the project carried out by the OECD, Arantzazulab, and public authorities in the town of Tolosa and the province of Gipuzkoa (Spain) to experiment with the use of public deliberation. It explores ways to improving deliberative processes in the Basque region, including looking at the link between those who participate in deliberative processes and the broader public, the role of civil servants in ensuring ownership of deliberative processes, the governance structure, or making evaluation and follow-up more systematic. The report also sets out three pathways to promoting and systemising deliberation across all levels of government in the Basque Country: 1) institutionalising deliberative practices; 2) embedding deliberation in public administration; and 3) mainstreaming deliberation both within and outside government.

This comprehensive review of public governance in Spain finds that it shares with other OECD countries the need for a whole-of-government approach to reform.

Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day – and often much longer – to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues.