Paul Rowsell has extensive experience of leading work on reforming democratic governance, particularly at the local and regional levels, and on devolution and decentralisation. He is responsible for legislation currently before the United Kingdom Parliament to support further decentralisation of power, including through new locally accountable institutions, and is overseeing governance reforms and devolution deals in a number of English counties and City Regions. He is currently Chair of the European Committee on Democracy and Governance, whose activities this year have focused on drafting Committee of Ministers Recommendations to Member States on the principles of good democratic governance and on the uses of deliberative democracy. In 2017 Her Majesty the Queen awarded Paul the honour of Commander of the British Empire for services to Local Government.

Dr Dominik Hierlemann is a Senior Advisor at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Germany. He leads the foundation’s work on democracy and citizen participation in Europe. He has been responsible for several pioneering citizens’ participation projects in cooperation with the Federal government of Germany and the European Commission.

 Art O'Leary is the Secretary General at the Irish Electoral Commission, a new management and oversight organisation for electoral and wider democracy matters. He is also currently Secretary to the 2 national Citizens' Assemblies underway in Ireland - deliberative democracy initiatives set up to advise the government on the crisis on Biodiversity Loss and local government structures in our capital city. From 2014 - 2021, Art was Secretary General to the President of Ireland, acting as Chief of Staff and Chief Adviser to President Michael D. Higgins.