At a Round Table representatives of the interest groups affected by a project discuss a material issue on a level footing and try to find a common solution.

Suitable

 

• for clarifying controversial questions with people representing diverging interest groups, when conflicts are already coming to the surface

Sequence of events

There is no standard procedure for a Round Table. The essential ingredients are impartial facilitators, keeping minutes of the discussion, and having each group represented by the same number of persons entitled to vote, regardless of their actual / political strength.

Participants

Representatives of interest groups, experts, politicians, administrators

Points to note

 

• For a Round Table to work well and produce binding results, all the groups of stakeholders affected by the issue should be represented.
• A Round Table can perfectly well be used to tackle controversial issues, but is unsuitable for conflicts that have got bogged down; in such cases mediation produces better results.