From the project’s initiation in March 2021 to its conclusion in July 2024, DEMOTEC undertook extensive activities aligned with its overarching objective of fostering democratic renewal through Participatory Budgeting (PB).
Key actions included:
• Research in democratic innovations
Conducted a ten-country representative survey to assess citizens’ awareness, attitudes, and participation in PB and other democratic innovations.
Analyzed over 42,000 news media articles and 300,000 social media mentions related to PB to understand public discourse and media framing.
Carried out qualitative interviews and surveys with journalists to evaluate their attitudes towards PB and its coverage.
• Participatory Budgeting Implementation:
Designed, conducted and analysed different forms of PB in an experimental scenario in seven cities across Europe (Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, UK).
Collaborated with municipal authorities to implement “real-world” PB cycles, tailored to local contexts and citizen needs.
• Capacity Building through training sessions for municipal officials and public events directed at policy makers.
The project consolidated findings into actionable policy recommendations and a PB handbook for policymakers, practitioners, and civil society organisations.
• Dissemination and Communication: A number of different multimedia resources were produced, including videos, infographics, and reports, to raise awareness about PB.
Main Results Achieved:
Citizen Engagement Insights: Identified significant gaps in public awareness of PB but demonstrated a willingness among citizens to engage if opportunities are provided.
Revealed demographic predictors of participation, including age, institutional trust, and interest in politics.
Demonstrated that well-designed PB processes can significantly enhance citizen satisfaction with the process.
Media and Public Discourse: Highlighted limited but growing media interest in PB, with a need for more differentiated and substantive coverage.
Identified barriers to journalistic promotion of PB, such as resource constraints and perceived lack of audience interest.
• Policy and Practice Contributions: Developed an eight-step roadmap and comprehensive PB handbook to guide municipalities in adopting PB.
• Synthesised findings into actionable recommendations for local, national, and EU policymakers.
Exploitation and Dissemination of Results
• The PB handbook and policy recommendations are freely accessible, enabling widespread adoption and adaptation.
• Training materials and methodologies were shared with participating municipalities and stakeholders, fostering long-term capacity-building.
• Results were disseminated through academic publications, media appearances, and policy forums, amplifying impact across diverse audiences.
Potential Future Exploitation
• Municipalities can leverage the PB handbook and lessons learned to design inclusive and effective participatory processes.
• Researchers and policymakers can utilize the project’s datasets, which will be publicly available, to advance studies on democratic innovations.
