Residents selected at random to shape up to £20 million
investment in the town.
Eastbourne is launching a new People’s Panel to help shape how up to £20 million of government funding is invested across the town over the next decade.
Using the Royal Mail address database 7,500 households across Eastbourne have been randomly selected and will receive an invitation letter in the coming days.
If a household receives a letter, it means they have been selected as part of a fair and representative democratic process known as sortition.
Sortition is a civic lottery system used in citizens’ assemblies around the world. It ensures that everyday residents – not just those who actively put themselves forward – are included in shaping public decisions.
From those randomly selected households who receive an invitation, all residents over the age of 18 from that address can register their interest. A further independent lottery process, managed by the Sortition Foundation, will then select 25 people to form the final panel.
The group will be selected to reflect Eastbourne’s population as closely as possible, including a balance of age, background, location across the town, and a fair representation of disabled and non-disabled residents, as well as people with different health conditions and access needs.
Richard Garland, Chair of the Eastbourne Neighbourhood Board, said:
“This is about fairness and representation. If you receive a letter, it is because you have been randomly selected. We are not asking for experts or volunteers – we are asking for a cross-section of Eastbourne to come together and help shape the town’s future.”
The Eastbourne People’s Panel will meet over four sessions in September and October 2026. Participants will learn about key local issues, hear from experts, and work together to develop shared priorities for the town.
Their recommendations will be presented to the Eastbourne Neighbourhood Board to help guide long-term investment decisions.
The process is being independently designed and facilitated by New Citizen Project, with the Sortition Foundation overseeing the random selection process.
New Citizen Project is an organisation which specialises in participation strategy and design and has been commissioned by the Neighbourhood Board to design and deliver the Eastbourne People’s Panel. They have run a number of high-profile deliberative democracy projects including IPSA’s landmark Citizens’ Forum on MP’s Pay and Funding, RSPCA’s Citizens’ Assembly on the Future of Animal Welfare and Jersey’s Citizen’s Assembly on Climate Change. They also designed the overarching RAPID Democracy framework for the People’s Plan for Nature, a pioneering deliberative project commissioned by RSPB, National Trust and WWF in 2022.
Residents who receive an invitation letter can register by Sunday 19 July via by scanning the QR code in their letter.