The newDemocracy Foundation conducts trials of innovations in democratic structure and process. Its aim is to identify processes that yield greater trust among citizens when making public decisions. The Foundation holds the view that public trust and confidence in some areas of political decision making is low and new methods should be researched and communicated to elected representatives at all tiers of government in a non-partisan basis. As a scientific and scholarly research organisation, we study the practical impact of citizen engagement with political processes at all levels of Government. We examine aspects of democratic renewal including the interrelationships between different kinds of deliberative activities and Government. Our research is focused (but not exclusively) on the responses of the community and elected representatives to the usefulness and benefits of these processes .