---
title: DemocracyCo
type: practice
status: active
country: AU
website: https://www.democracyco.com.au
logo: /assets/org-logos/democracyco.svg
contact:
  checked: 2026-08-01
  email: emily@democracyco.com.au
  phone: 0421 098 355 (Emma Fletcher, co-founder) / 0427 834 062 (Emily Jenke, co-founder)
  source: https://www.democracyco.com.au/about
summary: An Adelaide-based deliberative democracy facilitation practice co-founded
  by Emily Jenke and Emma Fletcher, designing and delivering citizens' juries and
  deliberative panels for government and industry across Australia and internationally.
concepts:
- citizens-assembly
- deliberative-democracy
- consensus-mapping
location:
  latitude: -34.9285
  longitude: 138.6007
  name: Adelaide, Australia
  precision: city
rss_feed: https://www.democracyco.com.au/feed/
events:
- date: '2026-09-01'
  title: Building Common Ground — online training on social licence for complex public
    policy through deliberative engagement
  url: https://events.humanitix.com/finding-common-ground-with-democracyco-improving-the-legitimacy-of-public-policy
  proof_level: medium
  url_checked: '2026-08-10'
  notable: false
  type: workshop
  location: Online
  proof_warning: true
activity:
  dod:
    checked: 2026-07-05
    date: 2026-07-05
    note: Site confirmed active and current, team/contact details match page
  rss:
    checked: 2026-08-17
    date: 2026-05-02
    note: 'Latest post: Housing Amplifcation'
    url: https://www.democracyco.com.au/housing-amplifcation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=housing-amplifcation
last_checked: '2026-07-05'
---

DemocracyCo is one of Australia's most established deliberative democracy practices, providing end-to-end design, facilitation, and project management for citizens' juries, panels, and assemblies. It was co-founded by Emily Jenke and Emma Fletcher — both with backgrounds in SA public service and community engagement — out of a frustration that governments were not achieving quality reform commensurate with the scale of problems faced by communities.

The practice does not advocate a single methodology; it selects approaches suited to each process. Its core principle is that giving citizens genuine influence means committing at the outset to implementing some or all of what they decide.

## Key people

- **Emily Jenke and Emma Fletcher** — co-founders, both with backgrounds in South Australian public service and community engagement. Jenke facilitated the 2014 SA Citizens' Jury on road sharing; the practice grew from their shared frustration that governments were not achieving quality reform commensurate with the scale of problems faced.[^democracyco]

## Notable processes

- **SA Nuclear Fuel Cycle Citizens' Juries (2016)** — A two-stage process involving 50 then 350 South Australians deliberating on whether SA should store international nuclear waste; described at the time as the world's largest citizens' jury on nuclear waste storage
- **Citizens' Jury: Sharing the Roads Safely, SA (2014)** — Explored road sharing between motorists and cyclists; facilitated by Emily Jenke
- **Citizens' Jury: Reducing Unwanted Dogs and Cats, SA** — 50 citizens, 5 days, 13 recommendations, 11 adopted and legislated
- **Citizens' Assembly on Responsible Social Media Discourse, Bosnia and Herzegovina** — International process designed by DemocracyCo with Sortition Foundation recruitment
- **The People's House** — An ongoing methodology giving MPs tools to engage randomly selected constituents; piloted in ACT and Victoria

## Related organisations

- [newDemocracy Foundation](newdemocracy.md) — Sydney-based research and practice organisation in the same space
- [MosaicLab](mosaiclab.md) — Melbourne-based deliberative practice

## See also

- [Citizens' Assembly](../concepts/citizens-assembly.md)
- [Consensus Mapping](../concepts/consensus-mapping.md)
- [Deliberative Democracy](../concepts/deliberative-democracy.md)
- [Mosaic Lab](mosaiclab.md)

[^democracyco]: "At DemocracyCo we create opportunities for citizens to participate constructively in the decisions that matter to them." [About](https://www.democracyco.com.au/about/), DemocracyCo.