Report and timeline of (e)participation and engagement practices

This report presents the main findings retrieved from the historical review of civic participation and engagement towards sustainable solutions. Findings emphasise the role of citizen participation in policy and decision-making by highlighting emerging trends and patterns in Europe. 

The report builds on the exploratory and Scoping Reviews of DIs for environmental and social sustainability in Europe since the aftermath of the Second World War. The review of scientific literature is supported by interviews with internationally acknowledged experts in this field and archival research of exemplary cases from nine European member countries. 

Through the Exploratory Review we learn that social and political upheavals of the 1960’s and 70’s were significant attempts of democratisation in policy and decision-making, both from the societal level upwards and governmental institutions downwards. In the 1980s and 1990s, participatory budgeting and the “deliberative turn” took centre stage with new democratic practices. In the 2000s, the international acknowledgment of DIs was grounded on scholarly discussion about different typologies and institutional designs for civic participation and engagement. The hybridisation of in-person and online practices has become a case in point in the last few years, as well as new horizons of mixed participatory and deliberative initiatives. Today, scholars agree on the potential of DIs to trigger systemic transformations when they effectively challenge established modes of governance and gain the support of civil society. 

From the Scoping Reviews we learn that deliberative mini-publics are deemed to enhance informed, inclusive, and reflective discussion among citizens; participatory budgeting is acknowledged as an effective way to provide citizens with a direct say in political decisions; participatory and collaborative governance are considered to bring potential by straddling together multiple stakeholders within decision-making processes. When it comes to the role of DIs for sustainable solutions, social inclusion and policy effectiveness stand out as main goals, with an emphasis on the role that marginalised communities can have to improve democratic governance. In fact, citizen-led DIs underscore how bottom-up approaches can amplify the scope and magnitude of participation in democratic processes, thus going over mere governance-driven processes. However, DIs are not without their challenges. Public powers often struggle to ensure inclusivity, maintain citizen engagement, achieve tangible impacts and embed DIs within the public administration. 

Moreover, we learn that despite the capacity of deliberative mini-publics to influence climate policies, they should not be understood as a panacea, as they necessarily need to rely on a broader set of systemic changes to steer meaningful change. As regards participatory budgeting, its significance extends through social and environmental sustainability with a focus on the empowerment of local communities, which resonates with goals of democratic governance pursued through the participation and collaboration of multiple stakeholders.

In sum, what DIs can add to the current debate on democracy, is the concrete opportunity to combine goals of more inclusive, effective, and sustainable improvement of our democracies. This report can positively encourage future research on emerging issues about civic participation and engagement for sustainable solutions.