INSPIRE’s Work Package 2 is co-led by Dr. Lucy Parry and Prof. Oliver Escobar at the University of Edinburgh and Dr. Adrian Bua at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.

 

Work Package 2 will deepen our understanding of how participatory democracy can foster more inclusive processes, institutions and socio-economic policies. We do this by analysing the political economy of participation in Europe, with a particular emphasis on how socio-economic conditions, intersectional inequalities and citizen participation relate to each other.

 

We will map the rapidly growing participation field and interview key actors to understand if and how professionalisation, institutionalisation and marketisation influence their capacity for intersectional inclusion. These findings, and further participatory research, will support us in the development of practical guidance for inclusive participation.  

 

Our Key Objectives:

 

• Mapping the Field of Participation: We will study the field of participation across 10 European countries, focusing on the professionalisation and institutionalisation of participatory processes and how these developments relate to intersectional equality. This involves document analysis and interviews with 50 practitioners from various sectors (public, private, and civic) across consortium countries.

• Developing a Democratic Capabilities Framework: Drawing from insights gained through interviews and academic literature, we will develop a Democratic Capabilities Framework aiming to understand the ways in which participatory processes can enhance the democratic capacity of systems and agents. We will hold workshops in Ireland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Portugal to test and improve the framework towards better promoting intersectional equality.

• Analysing the Impact of Participation on Socioeconomic Conditions: We will analyse how citizen participation initiatives shape socioeconomic policies through participatory decision-making. This will include a comparative study of civic crowdfunding platforms and participatory budgeting processes in European cities such as Prague, Warsaw, Barcelona, and Lisbon.

• Political Economy of Participation Briefing: We will synthesise our findings into a briefing on how participation initiatives relate to the broader political economy.

 

By understanding how citizen participation and socioeconomic conditions interact, this work package aims to promote more equitable and inclusive participatory processes across Europe.