The Eidos convening method
The Eidos method combines small invitation-only dinners of about twelve deliberately unalike Australians, facilitated asynchronous online dialogues on Mindhive that scale participation without losing depth, and published research that frames the questions rather than prescribing answers.
Last updated . Published by the Eidos Institute.
The four problems the method answers
The speed problem: platforms reward reaction over reflection, so the first take wins attention and the considered view arrives too late.
The homogeneity problem: most forums bring together people who already agree, and diversity of voice is tokenised rather than structural.
The depth problem: consultations produce submissions and panels produce talking points, and neither produces genuine understanding across difference.
The independence problem: most convenings are funded by parties with a stake in the outcome.
Invitation-only convenings
Signature dinners bring together about twelve carefully chosen Australians who would not ordinarily share a table: a judge and a twenty-two-year-old, a regional mayor and an elder, a business leader and a welfare economist.
Invitations are extended on the basis of what someone brings to the conversation, not their position in a hierarchy. Eidos designs the conditions, sets the question, and then gets out of the way.
National online dialogues
Dialogues run on Mindhive, the platform built by Eidos's sister organisation, and are free for all participants.
They are facilitated asynchronous conversations rather than polls or comment threads, designed to surface reasoning and to let people change their minds when they meet a compelling argument.
Research and publishing
Eidos commissions and publishes accessible explainers on contested questions, written for thoughtful Australians rather than specialists.
Research frames the national inquiries and feeds back into future convenings and dialogues.