We funded 4 innovative research projects on participatory democracy. The results are in!
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What if the key to transforming democracy lies not in the hands of a few, but in the ideas of many?
With the growing movement for participatory democracy globally, the need for effective, context-specific solutions has never been more pressing. In 2021, our members voted to allocate $50,000 to fund participatory democracy research that directly responded to practitioners' needs. Here are the outcomes of our efforts.
This project was selected as a priority by our members through our annual participatory process, People Powered Decides. To make this a reality, we offered grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 through an open call to our members. We funded four projects from Alberto Ford (University of Rosario, Argentina), the Field of Dialogue Foundation (Poland), Bareedo Platform (Somalia), and ASSOAL (Cameroon).
Here are the results of the research projects
1. School Participatory Budgeting strengthens group cooperation among students
Alberto Ford and his team’s study, “Research project to study School Participatory Budgeting (SPB) cases and its effects on democratization”, highlights a nuanced relationship between SPB and youth democratic engagement. It showed that active participation in democracy is stronger among students with positive experiences in SPB. This is crucial as the paper also showed that participation in SPB was associated with enhanced skills in group cooperation and a stronger sense of efficacy among students. To make SPB implementation more effective and encourage youth participation, the study recommends integrating it into regular school activities and prioritizing student-led initiatives.
“The ability to “work in a group” is more developed in those who participate in the SPB. This may indicate that the SPB may be strengthening a skill that can be transversal and transferable to other student situations.” – Alberto Ford (University of Rosario)
2. Participating in citizens’ assemblies increases confidence in citizen participation, and vice versa
Monika Probosz and Kazimierz Czartoryski, from the Field of Dialogue Foundation, along with researchers from the University of Poznań produced a paper entitled “Study report on the impact of deep democracy and deliberation on participants in citizens’ juries and assemblies in Poland”. In this piece, the researchers describe a positive experience in Poland, where participants’ confidence in citizen participation improved by their participation in a citizens’ assembly.
Its recommendations include making decisions by assemblies legally binding, having elected representatives and other officials present during the process, establishing a system to monitor the implementation of recommendations and increasing awareness-raising of assemblies by governments and municipalities.
“We need this evidence for national lobbying, to encourage cities to implement citizen juries, but also to encourage citizens to take risks and participate in, for example, a citizen juries on water saving.” – Mateusz Wojcieszak (the Field of Dialogue Foundation)
3. Specific kinds of resources and technical support are essential for transitions to digital democracy
The paper “Adoption of e-participation by the local governments of Garowe and Mogadishu in Somalia”, by Abdikhayr Mohammed Hussein and Bareedo Platform describes experiences in Somalia to introduce the Talo-wadaag e-participation platform to enhance democratic processes. The research concludes that despite enthusiasm and promise for e-participation, it is hampered by technical and financial limitations combined with a lack of citizen awareness and trust. To overcome these challenges, the paper recommends that more resources should be injected to expand it, along with efforts to increase accessibility via technical support, awareness-raising campaigns, capacity-building, and the promotion of e-democracy and civic education among the public.
4. Low trust in local authorities is one of the biggest barriers to the participation of internally displaced people (IDP)
On their paper “Citizen participation in local governance and access to basic social services: utopia or reality for internally displaced people (IDP) in communities affected by North-West and South-West crisis in Cameroon”, researchers Achille Noupeu and Jules Dumas Nguebou from ASSOAL came to realize that the participation of IDPs in participatory processes is scarce. This meager participation can be attributed to a lack of information regarding these processes or their possibility to do so and low confidence levels in local authorities. The solution identified is the integration and active participation of IDPs in decision-making processes, which would not only improve the living conditions of IDPs but also enrich local democratic processes.
“It would be interesting to see further research into encouraging and strengthening the participation of internally displaced people and their access to specific basic social services, to improve their living conditions and, above all, "living together". But it would also help municipalities to strengthen their participatory planning and budgeting processes.” – Achille Noupeou (Assoal)
Also read: How to include displaced people in government decision-making: Case study from Ukraine
What’s next?
While our Research Grants Project has ended, People Powered continues with our goal to ensure that all democracy practitioners have access to the resources they need to do their work.
Check out our Resource Center. It compiles the best tools, guides and materials on participatory democracy. You can also submit a resource.