The deliberative nature of London’s civic and democratic participation sector. The uses of lived experiences in the advocacy NGO’s rhetoric

Starting from an applied research project and its findings, we develop a broader discussion about the uses of lived experiences highlighted through applied research in the advocacy NGO’s rhetoric. As emphasised by many scholars having researched rhetoric and political communication, lived experiences of marginalised community members are being increasingly included in the organisational communication that aims to foster civic and democratic participation. Having actively collaborated as an external consultant for a research project funded by the Trust for London, on behalf of the Citizenship and Integration Initiative, and the UK Democracy Fund, a Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust initiative, we explore the role of applied research projects as mediums of lived experiences in public deliberations around civic and democratic participation.