A new policy brief outlines six key recommendations to integrate democratic innovations into European policymaking. The goal is to enhance public participation and embed democratic innovations into legislative processes at all levels of European governance. As public debates highlight declining support for representative democracy, the brief emphasizes the potential of democratic innovations to create new avenues for civic involvement. These innovations help bridge gaps between citizens and decision-makers, fostering more direct channels of influence.
This policy brief is based on preliminary research and case studies from the first year of the INCITE-DEM project. One of the key goals of INCITE-DEM is to align democratic innovations with sustainability, ensuring citizens play a role in shaping policies that are both socially and environmentally sustainable.
Key policy recommendations:
- Promote Inclusiveness by addressing socioeconomic disparities and ensuring equitable participation.
- Design Democratic Innovations for Vulnerable Groups to amplify marginalized voices, especially youth and future generations.
- Keep Citizens Motivated through meaningful engagement and new tools like social simulations.
The Dialogue Tool created in the INCITE-DEM project can be used in a context where citizens are being invited and trained to collaborate with communities in democracy labs, reflecting on social dynamics in democratic processes, and becoming more sensitive to possible risks for community cohesion.
- Expand Impact via Communication with targeted media strategies to boost participation and visibility.
- Integrate Citizen Input into policy frameworks to institutionalise citizen engagement.
- Embrace Continuous Learning by evaluating and adapting democratic innovations to evolving needs.
These recommendations aim to make democratic innovations a key part of European governance, fostering more inclusive and effective policymaking.