Testing AI for Community Participation in Leeds

The Challenge

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how people access information and make decisions, but little evidence exists on how it can support democratic participation without undermining community voice. Together with the University of Leeds and Kirklees Council, we set out to explore a simple but important question: 

Can AI help communities develop stronger, more actionable recommendations for decision-makers? 

Our Role

Hope for the Future designed and facilitated two identical climate mini-publics with residents in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury. One group followed a traditional deliberation process, while the second had access to an AI tool trained on local climate plans and council data.

Our role was to create an inclusive, community-led process that enabled researchers to compare whether AI could help residents develop recommendations that were more locally grounded, evidence-based and politically actionable.

Building the evidence base 

The recommendations from both groups have been submitted to Kirklees Council and are now being analysed by researchers at the University of Leeds.

Whatever the outcome, the project represents an important step in understanding how emerging technologies can support democratic engagement. The findings will help shape future approaches to community participation and provide valuable evidence for local authorities, researchers and civil society organisations exploring the role of AI in public decision-making.

For Hope for the Future, the project demonstrates our growing role as a bridge between academic research, local government and communities, ensuring innovation is grounded in real-world participation and practical political engagement.