Citizens' assembly on public services with AI

18. December 2025

On 18 December 2025, the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia decided on the topic for the first state-wide Citizens' Assembly. At the suggestion of the CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP, the question is: Cross-generational public services - How can digital progress and the use of AI support a self-determined life into old age, even when illness or the need for care arise?

The mini-public is intended to help incorporate the diverse perspectives of people in North Rhine-Westphalia on these issues and to jointly develop recommendations for action on how people in need of care and their relatives can improve their everyday lives with the help of technological innovations. ‘This will strengthen trust in digital solutions, promote social cohesion and enable the development of progressive approaches to modern and equitable public services,’ the decision states.

Topics

In particular, the participants of the Citizens' Assembly will address the following aspects of this topic:

Digital participation and trust in digital tools for a self-determined everyday life and in care
Generation-friendly living and neighbourhoods in urban and rural areas - reducing loneliness and increasing participation
Local care and support for all people: the role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in supporting participation and self-determination
Opportunities and limitations in the use of modern technologies in prevention and care
Use of digital technologies to support the search for care places that meet all needs

We look forward to the proposals’

On behalf of the CDU, MP Thomas Okos said, "We are proud that we have launched the first Citizens' Assembly in North Rhine-Westphalia across party lines and have now successfully brought it to a conclusion." His parliamentary group is looking forward to the proposals of the Citizens' Assembly and is excited about the ideas that will come from the heart of society.

Deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Elisabeth Müller-Witt said that with the Citizens' Assembly, the state parliament wanted to ‘create an additional element of our representative democracy’. The mini-public offered the opportunity to gather ideas from a representative group of the population. ‘This makes the voice of society audible and visible. These suggestions open up new perspectives, enrich political decision-making processes and at the same time strengthen democratic participation,’ said Müller-Witt.

‘Citizens' Assembly creates a space of trust’

Antje Grothus of the Green Party is pleased ‘that the first Citizens' Assembly will address the issue of how technological innovations can improve the everyday lives of people in need of care and their relatives.’ The mini-public creates a trusting space in which citizens, who are selected at random, can contribute their real-life experiences and needs.

For FDP MP Dirk Wedel, ‘it makes sense, especially when weighing up issues such as the opportunities and risks of digitalisation in care, to use a Citizens' Assembly to develop new perspectives’. Only by randomly selecting the members of the mini-publuc without taking personal interests into account can independent work be guaranteed and previously unconsidered perspectives be developed.

Mini-public meets from April to June 2026

From 17 April to 23 June 2026, the members of the Citizens' Assembly will meet on eight days. The mini-public will consist of 80 people who will be selected at random from among all residents of the state. To fill the seats in the assembly, 5,000 people aged 16 and over from across North Rhine-Westphalia will be selected at random and invited to participate.

The composition of the Citizens' Assembly should reflect the population in terms of age, gender, origin, community size and highest level of education of the participants. ‘The selection process must ensure that a representative cross-section of the population is randomly selected, taking into account factors such as living situations (e.g. shift workers, single parents), diversity and inclusion,’ states the state parliament's resolution of 31 January 2025.

Recommendations for the state parliament

After a maximum of ten weeks of deliberations, with meetings held in person and digitally, the Citizens' Assembly is to present its recommendations for action to the state parliament for discussion. A debate on the citizens' proposals will be held with the participation of all members of parliament. The recommendations will then be forwarded to the relevant committee of the state parliament for discussion.

Once the process is complete, the results of the mini-public will be ‘appropriately published and made accessible.’ The Citizens' Assembly will be scientifically monitored and checked for compliance with quality standards for mini-publics.

Citizens' assemblies recommended by commission of enquiry

As early as 2021, a commission of enquiry of the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament recommended the increased use of randomly selected citizens' assemblies. According to the commission's report at the time, sortition ‘allows different ideas and interests to be incorporated more strongly and citizens who are underrepresented in other - parliamentary and direct democratic - procedures can also participate in the process’.

The commission consisted of 13 members from all political groups and five expert members. In nine hearings and participation formats, more than 80 experts gave their opinions on the topic of ‘subsidiarity and participation’.

Parties in favour of mini-publics

Before the NRW state elections in 2022, the SPD, Greens and FDP, among others, had spoken out in favour of citizens' assemblies. In an online event organised by the ‘Mehr Demokratie’ association, members of the state parliament from the CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP were also in favour of mini-publics. After the state elections, the CDU and Greens had stipulated in their coalition agreement that they would ‘trial two citizens’ assemblies (...) on selected topics at state level’.