Considered by the press and experts to be a world first, the process is innovative in that it establishes for the first time a structural mechanism of participatory democracy that directly involves parliamentarians and citizens selected by lot. It is embedded in the Parliament's rules of procedure and is effectively part of the functioning of the Parliament as such. Citizens chosen by lot and parliamentarians are now regularly brought together to debate together on an equal footing.

To ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to express themselves and to be heard, special attention is paid to respect for the principles of deliberation, equality and inclusion. In order to ensure public ownership of the process, a follow-up procedure to the adopted recommendations has been established, with parliamentarians responsible for reporting back to the Council after 6-9 months, to inform citizens about their proposals' implementation

The innovation is currently under implementation.

In addition to the Parliament's services, the process requires the collaboration of:

• The support committee: made up of experts in citizen participation and the topic in question, it ensures that the various phases of the process run smoothly.
• A facilitator: he/she leads the debates and ensures inclusion.
• The governance committee: composed of representatives of the facilitator and the support committee, the president of the commission and two citizens, it evaluates each session.

The process involves:

• The parliamentarians of the relevant standing committee and citizens designated by a double draw by lot so as to be representative of the Brussels population, who together draw up recommendations recommendations;
• The Parliament, which follows up the recommendations
• The government, which participates in the implementation of the recommendations;
• The Brussels population

The three deliberative commissions set up to date have given 135 Brussels residents, with a wide range of profiles, the opportunity to to participate.

The recommendations adopted are each time followed up by the Parliament. Within 6 or 9 months, a report is drawn up, and it will indicate how the recommendations are being implemented (approximately 69%) or why they are not being implemented. It is then sent to all the participants concerned. Parliamentarians are then invited to a meeting to present the report and they discuss it with citizens. It is clear that these recommendations are a definite aid to decision-making and all political actors are taking them on board.

The process also gives the citizens selected by lot a more direct contact with the parliamentarians. It also allows them to understand the decision-making mechanisms, taking into account the interests involved, the institutional realities, the distribution of competences between levels of power, and more.

The experiments carried out so far have been evaluated in each case by the support committee and by the participants, namely elected representatives and citizens, who fill in a questionnaire at the end of the committee's work. Two major problems have emerged from these evaluations:

• The understanding of the process, at least of certain phases, by the citizens.
• The role of parliamentarians.

The first problem was solved fairly quickly by giving more room for explanations during the committee meetings and by organising preparatory sessions for citizens only; by favouring small group discussions rather than plenary sessions, in which the MPs have control over the whole process. The second problem has not yet been solved, but it is the main subject of a first, more global evaluation currently under way and which should be completed soon.

The success of the process is conditional on the respect of several principles, including:

• Deliberation, understood here as discussion between free and equal individuals based on argumentation ;
• Equality: firstly, between citizens, each having an equal chance of being drawn by lot; secondly, between citizens and parliamentarians, with everyone having the same right to speak and to be heard;
• Information, which must be accessible to all participants and reflect the diversity of viewpoints
• The inclusion, at all stages of the process, of those who are furthest away from participation (particular attention should be paid to young people, people with special needs, the socio-economically and linguistically disadvantaged public);
• Transparency, in particular to avoid suspicions of manipulation of the process (to support this principles, plenary meetings are broadcasted on Youtube).

The process was developed jointly by two assemblies: the Brussels Parliament and the Brussels French-speaking Parliament, under the supervision of the same steering committee. The former has so far organised 3 deliberative committees and the latter 2. They will continue the experiment.

The problem of the growing gap between elected representatives and citizens is not unique to the Brussels Region, and the process is already inspiring other assemblies. It is now being applied in another Belgian regional assembly, the Parliament of Wallonia, but has not yet been implemented there. A proposal to introduce a similar mechanism in the Belgian federal parliament has been tabled in the House of Representatives and is currently under discussion.

In order to ensure the success of these processes at the different levels, a network of the officials involved should be set up.

Finally, as contacts with foreign institutions increase, the model could soon be exported to other countries.

The implementation of such a process cannot be improvised and requires time.

The definition of the modalities of its application requires numerous meetings with experts and consultation with the political groups and the administrative services of the Parliament, which must all take ownership of the process.

The smooth running of deliberative committees also requires the allocation of substantial resources. First of all, financially as the cost is around EUR 100 000 per experience. Secondly, on a human level, since it confronts the services with new tasks often performed at unusual times (to allow the greatest number of people to participate, meetings are held in the evening and at weekends).

Finally, as this is an unprecedented process, it is by its very nature perfectible and therefore requires a permanent evaluation in which all the stakeholders must be involved.

The Brussels Parliament has also set up another citizen participation mechanism, also managed via the platform democratie.brussels, aimed at revitalising the right of petition.

From now on, the law gives any petitioner the right to be heard by the Parliament if his or her petition receives the support of 1,000 people (formerly 5,000) domiciled in the Brussels-Capital Region and aged 16 years or over (a threshold modelled on that required for citizens to suggest the establishment of a deliberative committee).

This reform has had the desired effect: in 2020, the first petition with 1,000 signatures was declared admissible and was referred to the committee for consideration. In 2021, 7 petitioners were heard and in 2022, 11 petitions were submitted.

The balance is therefore positive: in two years, 33 petitions were addressed to Parliament, compared to 4 in the previous 20 years.