To the best of my knowledge, the Consensus Conference is the first participatory method that introduced participatory citizen engagement as a direct advising mechanism to a parliament (The Citizen Jury was developed before the Consensus Conference, but in an academic setting. It took a while before it was used for policy advice. http://actioncatalogue.eu/method/7430 ). As with several other participatory methods, it originated from an elite-focused method, which was later adapted to include citizens as the core participants. Its main characteristics are summarized in three features. First, the citizens have the power to be in control of all phases—framing the topic, demanding information, selecting and questioning witnesses, writing the report and its recommendations, and presenting and discussing with the receivers. Second, the 12–16-person Citizen panel comprises wide diversity (not representativity). Third, the report is written by the citizen panelists and represents consensus. This methodology has been used around the world since 1987 and is still being applied in situations when a comprehensive citizen analysis with balanced and profound witness input is wanted on a complex topic with societal controversy.