Deliberative Decision Making

Deliberative Decision Making (DDM) is an approach to deliberation designed to promote best practices for process quality and authenticity in decision making and introduce strategies for running meetings to increase participation and equity for all participants. This approach grew out of the 2019 DU Creating Collaborative Department Cultures and Chairs Symposium.

This is a simple approach that can be learned and implemented quickly and primarily consists of:

For resources on Deliberative Decision Making, view our DDM handout and video on DDM in promotion and tenure reviews.

Why Use DDM?

These are a few concepts and strategies that we have seen first-hand help groups make better decisions and ensure that all members feel they have been fairly treated and authentically empowered. There is a wealth of research evidence demonstrating that these strategies can produce better decisions and create programs and policies that have lasting impact.

A department’s ability to make high-quality decisions is dependent on the quality of deliberation that precedes the choices made as a department. There is considerable historical and empirical evidence that the quality of interaction is the single most important determinant of the decision-making success or failure as a group. This is because the way group members talk about the problems, options, and consequences affects the way they think about those problems, options, and consequences, which ultimately determines the quality of final choices they make as a group.

Knowing When to Use DDM

DDM can be used in any department meeting, especially where informal interactional norms are a concern or priority. That said, it is particularly impactful in common discussion points and even contested or challenging department decisions such as: 

Reappointment Debilerations