# Involve (think tank)

The Involve Foundation (known as Involve) is a UK based charity "working with governments, parliaments, civil society, academics and members of the public to create, advocate for and deliver new forms of public participation", like, for example, citizens' assemblies. Its headquarters are in Bethnal Green in Central London, and it has offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

## Background

In 1999, a group of academics in the field of deliberative democracy met with practitioners and policy-makers to explore avenues of cooperation. In 2000, this became the InterAct network, and in 2003, after several joint publications on public participation, they discussed formalising their cooperation by founding an institute. This initiative was launched in September 2003 in London, hosted by the Environment Council, and by March 2004 it had obtained its first funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. In June 2005, it stopped being hosted by the Environment Council and became an independent organisation, with Geoff Mulgan as its first chair and Richard Wilson as its first director. In 2006, it was formally incorporated, and in 2009 it became a charity, with Simon Burrall as Director. Its objects were “to advance education for the public benefit in methods and processes of public participation and democratic practice,” and “to promote good citizenship for the public benefit by encouraging and facilitating participation by the public in democratic and decision-making processes with an intended outcome of enabling people to develop their capacities, help meet their needs and participate more fully in society.” In 2015, a Scotland office was opened, and in 2017 Tim Hughes became Director. In 2018, a Northern Ireland office was opened, and in 2021, Sarah Castell became Director.

## Activities

Involve's vision is of a democracy where people are at the heart of decision-making. Its mission statement is "to develop, support, and campaign for new ways of involving people in the decisions that affect their lives." The Articles of Association include in the ‘Objects’ section: “encouraging and facilitating participation by the public in democratic and decision-making processes” (3.2); “collaborate and cooperate with other bodies to further the purposes of the Charity” (4.3); “form partnerships with other organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors” (4.5).
Involve has worked with a wide range of partners, most recently the Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and NHS England. Past partners include the Home Office, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the Ministry of Justice, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly, the OECD, the European Commission and the BBC.

## Governance

Involve's CEO is Sarah Castell and the Chair of Involve's Board of Trustees is Ed Cox. Other trustees are Claire Ainsley, Paul Braithwaite, Andrew Cave, Dr. Temidayo Eseonu, Delaweh Hamelo-Mensah, Kathryn Jones, Sharon Squires, and Dr. Hannah White.

## Key publications

* Room for a View: Democracy as a deliberative system, 2015
* Civic Activism Toolkit, 2015
* Public engagement, not just about the public, 2014
* Can you hear me? Citizens, Climate change & Open Local Government, 2014
* From Fairytale to Reality: Dispelling the myths around citizen engagement, 2013
* Pathways through Participation: What creates and sustains active citizenship?, 2011
* Talking for a Change: A distributed dialogue approach to complex issues, 2010