Polish Pilot - Choices on Shaping the Framework for Deliberation

After collecting data on the institutional and legal problems of the Ukrainian refugee community in Poland. The next step was to determine which of these problems the Polish pilot would serve. To this end, a series of meetings were held with partners to select the topic of the workshop and choose the participating group.  

Decisions that had to be made regarding the creation of rules for the deliberative process:

Procedure for selecting a detailed workshop topic 

Option 1: The detailed topic is chosen by the partner team after analyzing the literature and survey results

Advantage:

All three workshops would be devoted to solving a specific problem, so it would be possible to lean into the problem in a more in-depth way

Disadvantage:

We are taking away the causal power of refugees to choose the most pressing problem

Option 2: The topic is chosen during the first workshop with refugees, after presenting them with the findings from the literature and surveys

Advantage:

Refugees have the opportunity to choose the topic, so they have more agency at each stage of the process

Disadvantage:

Only two workshops are left to develop recommendations, so there is a danger that they will be superficial (or formulated on the basis of superficial knowledge)

We are not able to adjust the group selection to the topic, so if the topic turns out to be, for example, the situation of people with disabilities or youth, we will no longer be able to ask such people to participate in the workshop

Selection of participants

Option 1: We try to select a “representative” group, or at least a diverse one - taking into account various factors of exclusion (gender, age, disability, ethnicity, place of residence in Ukraine)

Advantage:

This is perhaps simpler than selecting a special group, it also gives the opportunity to shape the topic of the workshop in any way

Disadvantage:

Even a diverse group of 14 may be “blind” to some important problems of refugees that, for example, affect only a small part of them, so there is a chance that, despite the greater proficiency of refugees in the process, the group will not lean on certain topics

Option 2: We select the group affected by the problem (which means that it has to be defined before the workshop), e.g. if the topic is integration in schools, there should be an overrepresentation of young people in the group, if the topic is the situation of caregivers, there should be at least a few of them in the group

Advantage:

All three workshops would be devoted to solving a specific problem, so it would be possible to lean into it in a more in-depth way

Disadvantage:

We take away the agility of refugees in terms of choosing the most pressing problem

Play and game

Option 1 - game: A process in which rules and goals (and therefore the topic) are defined from the beginning, and “outside” facilitators are present

Advantages: 

More control over the process

Ease of evaluation

Disadvantage:

Less inclusive form 

Option 2 - play: A process in which rules, goals and roles are set by participants, potentially more emphasis on communication and its quality than on outcomes

Advantages:

Inclusiveness and causality - putting the process in the hands of refugees

Participants can identify a topic that has not appeared in the literature

Disadvantages:

Lack of control over the process: its goals, outcomes of activities

This form may require more time than 3 meetings (setting rules and goals takes time)

Length of the process

Option 1: 3 meetings (on weekends) in 1 month

Advantages: 

Easier to organize

Potentially less chance of participants dropping out during the pilot

Disadvantages:

Less time between meetings for participants and organizers to work

Potentially people may have difficulty engaging in an intensive, short process 

Option 2: 3 meetings (on weekends) spread over 2 months

Advantage:

More time between meetings for participants and organizers to work

Disadvantage:

Potentially some people may drop out (especially in Przemyśl, where most refugees stay for a short time, up to 3 months)

Do we include people under 18 years of age

Option 1: Include people 16 years of age and older

Advantages: 

Children and adolescents make up the majority of refugees from Ukraine, this is inclusive

We learn the perspective of those who have the most contact with education-related institutions

Disadvantages:

Probably need a certificate from the National Criminal Register for facilitators

Option 2: All participants are adults

Advantage:

Fewer difficulties related to the mode of conducting the process and rules to ensure equal participation

Disadvantages:

We create a process where there will be no direct input from a specific group

We lose sight of the perspective of people who make up a very large proportion of refugees from Ukraine