Better decisions. Stronger institutions. A more engaged public.
MASS LBP helps governments, public institutions, and civic organizations tackle difficult questions, make important decisions, and involve people in shaping what comes next.
Since 2007, we've worked across Canada and internationally on issues ranging from health care and climate change to transportation, democratic reform, and organizational strategy.
Our work falls into three areas: Public Deliberation, Civic Life, and Inclusive Strategy. Each draws on a common conviction: people have more to contribute, and institutions make better decisions when they create the conditions for people to work together.
Find out how we can help you.
Public Deliberation: Difficult decisions deserve more than conventional consultation.
When governments face complex or contentious decisions, public hearings, surveys, and town halls can only take them so far.
Citizens' assemblies offer a different approach. By bringing together a representative group of residents to learn about an issue, weigh competing perspectives, and develop recommendations, they help governments make difficult decisions with greater public understanding and confidence.
MASS is one of the world’s most experienced practitioners of citizens' assemblies and representative public deliberation. Over nearly twenty years, we've organized more than 50 citizens' assemblies and reference panels on issues ranging from health care and climate change to transportation and democratic rights.
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When governments face complex or contentious decisions, public hearings, surveys, and town halls can only take them so far. They can reveal what people think, but rarely give people the opportunity to learn about an issue, weigh competing considerations, and work together toward a considered judgment.
Citizens' assemblies offer a different approach.
A citizens' assembly brings together a representative group of residents, selected through a civic lottery, to study an important public question and develop recommendations for decision-makers.
Members hear from experts, consider different perspectives, discuss difficult trade-offs, and work toward common ground. They are given the time, information, and support to do work that conventional public consultation seldom makes possible.
The result is more than a collection of individual opinions. It is a set of informed, collective recommendations that can help governments make decisions with greater public understanding and confidence.
How does a citizens' assembly work?
1. Recruit a representative public. We begin by sending invitations to randomly selected households. From those who volunteer, we use a civic lottery to select a group that broadly reflects the community's demographic and geographic diversity. No special expertise or prior civic involvement is required.
2. Learn about the issue. Assembly members receive accessible, balanced information and hear from experts, stakeholders, and people with relevant experience. They have opportunities to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and develop a shared understanding of the choices before them.
3. Deliberate together. Through carefully structured and facilitated discussions, members weigh evidence, consider competing priorities, and explore areas of agreement and disagreement. The goal isn't simply to take a vote, but to develop recommendations that reflect considered public judgment.
4. Deliver recommendations. Members present their conclusions to the sponsoring institution, often in a public report. The institution remains responsible for deciding how to respond, but benefits from a clearer understanding of what an informed and representative group of residents believes should be done.
When should you consider a citizens' assembly?
Citizens' assemblies are particularly valuable when:
The choices are difficult. There are competing priorities, genuine trade-offs, and no obvious answer.
Public trust matters. A decision will have lasting consequences, and people need confidence that different perspectives have been fairly considered.
Conventional consultation isn't enough. Public meetings and surveys are unlikely to produce the depth of understanding or considered advice the issue requires.
A broad range of voices should be heard. Decisions should reflect more than the views of the most organized, vocal, or readily available participants.
Decision-makers need practical guidance. An informed group of residents can help identify acceptable compromises, establish priorities, and develop recommendations.
Not every public question requires a citizens' assembly. We help clients determine when deliberation is appropriate, what it can realistically accomplish, and how to design a process that will be useful to decision-makers.
Why work with MASS?
MASS LBP is one of Canada's most experienced practitioners of citizens' assemblies and representative public deliberation.
Over nearly twenty years, we've organized more than 50 citizens' assemblies and reference panels, working with governments, public agencies, foundations, and civic organizations on questions ranging from primary care and transportation to climate policy and democratic rights.
We manage the entire process: framing the question, designing and administering the civic lottery, recruiting and supporting members, developing the learning program, facilitating deliberation, and preparing the final report.
Our approach combines methodological rigour with practical experience. We know how to make complex information accessible, help people with different perspectives work together, and produce recommendations that are clear, credible, and useful.
We also understand the institutional side of the equation: how to establish an appropriate mandate, maintain independence, manage expectations, and ensure that the assembly's work has a meaningful place in the decision-making process.
Our work in public deliberation
Canadian Youth Climate Assembly
In 2025, 33 young Canadians selected through a civic lottery gathered in Ottawa to consider what Parliament should do to meet Canada's climate commitments in ways that reflect their generation's values and priorities. They developed 23 recommendations, which they presented directly to Parliament.
OurCare: A Pan-Canadian Conversation About Primary Care
MASS helped bring people across Canada into a national conversation about the future of primary care, combining broad public engagement with citizens' panels that developed recommendations for improving the system.
Youth Assembly on Digital Rights and Safety
Young people considered the opportunities, risks, and responsibilities associated with digital technologies and developed recommendations about their rights and safety online.
Citizens' Assembly on Democratic Expression
A series of citizens' assemblies examined the challenges of democratic expression in the digital age, bringing informed public judgment to questions about online harms, free expression, and platform accountability.
Metrolinx Residents' Reference Panel
Residents from across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area came together to consider the region's long-term transportation priorities and provide advice on the Regional Transportation Plan.
[Read the panel report]
Considering a citizens' assembly?
You don't need to arrive with a fully formed proposal. We can help you assess whether a citizens' assembly is the right approach, frame the question, and understand the likely scope, timeline, and cost.
Let's talk about the decision you're facing.
Civic Life: Democracy is something people do.
A healthy democracy depends on more than elections and good public policy. It depends on people who are curious about the world around them, connected to their communities, and willing to take part in public life.
MASS develops projects, programs, and public experiences that invite people to learn, participate, and contribute. From civic education and public engagement to new opportunities for community service, our work helps people exercise their democratic muscles and take a more active role in shaping the world around them.
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Democracy is something people do.
A healthy democracy depends on more than elections and good public policy. It depends on people who are informed, connected to their communities, and confident in their ability to shape the world around them.
Yet the opportunities to participate in civic life are often limited. We think there's room for much more.
MASS creates programs, campaigns, and public experiences that help people learn about their communities, connect with one another, and take part in public life. We work with governments, foundations, libraries, and civic organizations to develop new opportunities for civic learning, expression, and service.
Our work is informed by the idea of democratic fitness: the habits, skills, and confidence people develop through active participation in civic life. Like any capacity, it grows stronger with use.
We believe democracy should be something people experience and practise, not simply something they observe.
Our work in Civic Life
Democracy Fitness
In partnership with Democracy Fitness International, MASS delivers Democracy Fitness workshops across Canada. Through lively, practical exercises, participants strengthen the skills and habits that make democratic life possible—from listening and expressing disagreement to engaging with different perspectives and finding common ground.
[Explore Democracy Fitness]
Service Ballots
A new approach to civic participation that invites residents to put their names forward for public service. By connecting people's interests and willingness to contribute with opportunities in their communities, Service Ballots help make civic participation a more regular part of democratic life.
[Explore Service Ballots]
National Trust for Canada
Working with the National Trust to encourage Canadians to discover, appreciate, and participate in the preservation of the places that shape their communities and shared heritage.
[Explore the project]
150Canada
A national initiative inviting Canadians to look beyond the country's 150th anniversary and imagine the Canada they wanted to build together.
[Explore the project]
Toronto Public Library: Know Your Vote
A nonpartisan civic education initiative helping Toronto residents better understand municipal government, the issues facing their city, and the choices before them at election time.
[Explore the project]
Have an idea for getting people involved?
From civic education and public campaigns to new forms of community participation, we help organizations turn good ideas into opportunities for people to contribute.
Inclusive Strategy: A good strategy should do more than set priorities. It should bring people together.
The most important part of strategic planning isn't always writing the plan. It's developing a shared understanding of what matters, making difficult choices, and building commitment to a common direction.
MASS helps public institutions, professional organizations, and nonprofits develop strategies that are informed by evidence and shaped by the people responsible for carrying them forward.
Through research, engagement, and skilled facilitation, we help organizations establish priorities, navigate difficult conversations, and turn their ambitions into practical plans that people understand and are prepared to act on.
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A good strategy should do more than set priorities. It should bring people together.
Organizations often approach strategic planning as a technical exercise: review the evidence, consult stakeholders, identify priorities, and write a plan.
But the most important part of strategy is often the work of developing a shared understanding of what matters, making difficult choices, and building commitment to a common direction.
That's where MASS comes in.
We help public institutions, professional organizations, and nonprofits develop strategies that are informed by evidence and shaped by the people responsible for carrying them forward.
Our work combines research, interviews, workshops, facilitation, and collaborative decision-making. We help organizations examine their circumstances, confront difficult questions, establish priorities, and translate their ambitions into practical plans.
We pay particular attention to the process itself. Done well, strategic planning can strengthen relationships, clarify responsibilities, build trust, and create a stronger sense of common purpose.
The result should be more than a polished document. It should be a strategy people understand, recognize themselves in, and are prepared to act on.
How we help
Strategic planning. We design and lead planning processes that bring leadership, staff, members, and stakeholders into a productive conversation about an organization's future.
Research and engagement. We conduct interviews, surveys, workshops, and other forms of inquiry to understand the perspectives, experiences, and evidence that should inform decisions.
Facilitation and priority-setting. We help groups navigate difficult conversations, identify common ground, make choices, and establish a clear direction.
Organizational alignment. We work with institutions to connect strategy with governance, culture, responsibilities, and implementation.
Our work in Inclusive Strategy
University of Toronto, Department of Family and Community Medicine
A collaborative strategic planning process to establish the department's priorities and direction for 2022–2027.
[Explore the strategic plan]
Toronto Public Health
Research, engagement, and strategic support for the development of Toronto Public Health's approach to drug decriminalization.
[Explore the project]
Ontario Nurses' Association
A strategic planning process supporting the association in setting priorities and charting its direction for 2021–2026.
[Explore the strategic plan]
Family Service Toronto
A collaborative strategic planning process to clarify organizational priorities and guide future work.
[Explore the strategic plan]
Planning what's next?
Whether you're preparing a new strategic plan, confronting a difficult organizational decision, or looking to build greater alignment across your institution, we can help you design a process that leads somewhere.
Explore Our Work
For nearly twenty years, MASS has worked with public institutions and civic organizations across a wide range of issues and communities.
Explore our experience, the organizations we've worked with, and the citizens' assemblies and reference panels we've organized.
[Our Clients] · [Our Projects] · [Panels and Assemblies]
Have a difficult question, a new initiative, or an important decision ahead?
We'd be glad to hear about it.