About the Rating Criteria

• Relevant to all walks of life
  Ideally, issue guides should appeal and be relevant to all sorts of people, from all walks of life.
• Covers a variety of perspectives
  Effective issue guides show a wide range of perspectives so that many different people can take part and solutions are relevant to many.
• Uses clear, uncomplicated language
  Good issue guides are clear, avoid jargon, are not too complex. They should use public language that people can relate to.
• Promotes discussion of trade-offs 
  Civic conflicts rarely revolve around differences between absolute right and wrong; more often, they have to do with unavoidable trade-offs between desirable outcomes. A good issue guide recognizes this and highlights these trade-offs so they can be addressed directly.
• Shows a clear path to action
  Ideally, issue guides result in a clear pathway for action that participants might take after the dialogue.