The Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association of Ireland (PSAI) brings together scholars and practitioners to coordinate and promote theoretical and empirical research in the broad areas of participatory and deliberative democracy. Diverse forms of public participation are of increasing interest to scholars across the social sciences. However, the growth in democratic deliberation is of increasing interest to scholars; especially those within the field of political science. The growth of Democratic Deliberation has inspired interest from scholars, not least, scholars of governance and public policy/decision making, public administration,and social policy development.