Deliverable 9.2 of the UNTWIST project: Final summary of policy recommendations

This document represents the first version of the deliverable and is subject to review and approval by the European Commission. Following this process, and once any revisions deemed necessary have been duly incorporated, an updated version of the deliverable will be submitted and made available accordingly.

Deliverable 9.2 presents the findings from participatory workshops conducted in six European countries (Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, United Kingdom) to examine how citizens experience and interpret societal challenges in their daily lives. Across diverse national contexts and participant profiles, discussions consistently centred on material concerns: healthcare and welfare provision, cost-of-living pressures, labour market insecurity, and social-media-driven polarisation—rather than cultural or identitarian issues. Participants overwhelmingly favoured solutions grounded in public intervention, including increased investment, stronger regulation, and structural reforms. Overall, 80% of recommendations fall under political action, and regulation alone comprises 44% of all proposals. Despite variations in workshop composition, core priorities converged across countries, underscoring the methodological robustness of participatory formats in capturing cross-cutting citizen insights. These results reinforce broader project evidence that mainstream parties risk losing voter trust not because of ideological distance but due to their limited responsiveness to citizens’ concrete socio-economic needs.

The findings demonstrate the value of embedding citizen experiences within mixed-method research and policy deliberation. Sustained investment in participatory, citizen-centred approaches will be crucial for generating high-quality scientific knowledge and informing political strategies that resonate with the lived realities of European citizens.