Table 3.

Implementing facilitator fidelity assessment findings.

Conclusions from the fidelity assessment	Team discussion	Changes made to subsequent deliberations
The core principles least frequently reflected in the site 1 deliberations were reasoned justification of ideas and adoption of a societal perspective.	As reasoned justification of ideas and adoption of a societal perspective are key components of our deliberation goals, strengthening facilitator remarks that invite or encourage discussion related to these principles is needed.	The team developed exemplar responses that would align with the principles of reasoned justification of ideas (eg, what information did you hear today that influenced your opinion?) and adoption of a societal perspective (eg, in this deliberation, we will ask you to consider what would be best for society as a whole). The exemplars were placed on slides and provided as suggestions at a subsequent facilitator training session. The training also included a discussion of the meaning of adopting a societal perspective, as there seemed to be some confusion about this principle.
The core principle of expression of diverse opinions was well represented in the deliberation. These remarks involved asking deliberants whether they had opinions different than what had been discussed or asking them whether there were groups not represented in the deliberations who might have different opinions. Remarks inconsistent with this principle occurred in a few instances when facilitators expressed their own opinions.	Although few remarks conveyed the personal opinions of facilitators, the elimination of all statements of personal opinions is desired.	Facilitator training emphasized that expressing personal opinions should always be avoided during the deliberative discussion. The training also emphasized that potential power differentials between facilitators and deliberants might serve to quiet deliberant voices that may diverge from the opinions of facilitators if expressed.
Remarks related to the core principle of equal participation were mainly consistent with the principle. In only a couple of instances did a facilitator call on a person who had already spoken frequently.	More strategies to draw out quieter members, especially youth deliberants, are needed.	The team developed a variety of exemplar facilitator responses that could be used to encourage quieter members to speak and to respectfully request that dominant members allow and encourage the participation of more reticent deliberants (eg, it is important that we hear from as many deliberants as we can in our group tonight. We invite those who have not yet shared their thoughts on xxxx to do so). These responses were presented in facilitator training. The team also determined that it was advisable to directly engage quieter members if done in an inviting and nonthreatening manner (eg, XXXX, we would love to hear your thoughts on xxxxx. I believe your perspective would be important here).
Compromise or movement toward consensus was the core principle with which the largest number of remarks were inconsistent. Most of these remarks were those in which facilitators pronounced what consensus they believed the group had reached rather than asking deliberants to articulate what they viewed as consensus. Most of these remarks happened in the latter part of session 4 and might have been aimed at getting a consensus statement before the deliberation ended.	Strategies to ensure that the consensus opinions are attributable to deliberants would improve the deliberation process.	Strategies were developed to encourage deliberants to come to a consensus and to provide opportunities for deliberants to articulate their consensus opinions. Specifically, in each breakout session, deliberants were asked to summarize the consensus, and a volunteer was sought to report back to the larger group. Moreover, because the tendency for facilitators to provide their interpretation of the consensus reached by the group seemed to stem from “running out of time” at the end of sessions, plans to allow more time to come to and articulate consensus opinions were built into the deliberation run of show.