They are generally convened by the government or a public agency and typically meet several times over a period of weeks or months to learn about, discuss, and reach agreement on recommendations for how to address a contentious public issue.
[citation needed] Members of a Citizens' Reference Panel are randomly invited and selected during a civic lottery process.
They are considered volunteers and with the exception of reimbursements for travel and childcare, they receive no financial compensation for their time.
The idea being that the time each citizen volunteers to the panel is part of a public service, such as jury duty.
[citation needed] Much like a Royal Commission, the recommendations of a Citizens' Reference Panel are non-binding though they do carry moral stature.