At present, there is no single, universally accepted definition of "deliberative democracy." However, there is substantial agreement among those who study and practice it that it is a form of democratic self-governance in which public decisions are shaped through public dialogue and deliberation among citizens rather than solely through adversarial debate among politicians and elected officials.

Democratic public deliberation requires that citizens (a) have an equal opportunity to participate in the process (if only by having an equal chance to be selected as part of a reprsentative sample); (b) have ready access to relevant factual information and a wide range of viewpoints and arguments about the issue; ©) have adequate time to reflect and talk about the issue or problem; (d) are aided by experienced, non-partisan facilitators who help the group work towards a generally shared judgment about how to resolve the issue or problem.