Workshop: Citizen Participation and Democratic Engineering
27 October 2008 - 28 October 2008
United Kingdom
Increasingly, policy-makers with an interest in citizen participation are turning to other countries to share experience and ideas, and researchers are working across national and regional borders in order to identify common themes and explore further potential for mutual learning. The Network on Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe (CINEFOGO) aims to share knowledge and learning across Europe. As a part of this initiative, and building on its links with other networks in Europe and the South, the University of the West of England, Bristol hosted a workshop to bring together researchers from three networks. The three networks are:
The Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability at the Institute for Development Studies in Sussex (http://www.drc-citizenship.org(opens in new window))
An international network of researchers and activists exploring new forms of citizenship that will help make rights real.
CINEFOGO: the European Network of Excellence on Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe: the Making of European Citizenship (http://www.cinefogo.org(opens in new window)
An EU-funded network that aims to enhance the understanding of social and democratic processes, citizenship and democratic participation in Europe.
Non-Governmental Public Action (http://www.lse.ac.uk/ngpa)(opens in new window):
An ESRC-funded research programme focusing on public action by and for disadvantaged people, undertaken by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other non-government actors. It aims to develop existing theory, generate new empirical data and develop beneficial links between researchers and users.
By bringing these networks together, this workshop aimed at sharing experience on citizen participation, and making the learning from this dialogue more widely available to policy makers, practitioners and researchers across Europe and in the South. Papers presented at the workshop are intended to be published in either book or journal form.
Workshop invited proposals for papers focusing on citizen participation and democratic engagement. These included discussions on: rules of inclusion, formal and informal relations with representative institutions, the outcomes of participation and mechanisms for the selection and channelling of civil society organisation; the ways in which citizens mobilise for democracy; the role of networks and others in mediating state-society relations, etc.
Particularly encouraged was thinking about the value of comparing experiences across the globe and papers that will raise issues for international dialogue. Authors were encouraged to link their discussion of citizen participation and democratic engagement to our broader themes:
• Methodological challenges: how can we learn from comparing experiences between North and South (or East and West)?
• How do different state actors understand or promote conceptions of participation?
• What are the challenges for citizens engaging in new governance spaces, and how do these challenges vary between countries?
• How do citizens’ strategies for participation and democratic engagement vary?
• What are the ‘dividends’ or outcomes of citizen engagement and participation for deepening democracy and achieving developmental results?About CINEFOGO
CINEFOGO is an acronym for Network of Excellence “Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe – the Making of European Citizenship”. CINEFOGO aims at enhancing the understanding of social and democratic processes, citizenship and democratic participation in Europe. It seeks to provide knowledge about civil society, citizenship and social protection, nourish a public debate on governance and strengthen intellectual co-operation. To learn more on CINEFOGO, visit http://www.cinefogo.org(opens in new window) or send an e-mail to cinefogo@ruc.dk. The CINEFOGO Network of Excellence is supported by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme, Priority 7: New Forms of Citizenship and Cultural Identities of the European Union.
The Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability at the Institute for Development Studies in Sussex (http://www.drc-citizenship.org(opens in new window))
An international network of researchers and activists exploring new forms of citizenship that will help make rights real.
CINEFOGO: the European Network of Excellence on Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe: the Making of European Citizenship (http://www.cinefogo.org(opens in new window)
An EU-funded network that aims to enhance the understanding of social and democratic processes, citizenship and democratic participation in Europe.
Non-Governmental Public Action (http://www.lse.ac.uk/ngpa)(opens in new window):
An ESRC-funded research programme focusing on public action by and for disadvantaged people, undertaken by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other non-government actors. It aims to develop existing theory, generate new empirical data and develop beneficial links between researchers and users.
By bringing these networks together, this workshop aimed at sharing experience on citizen participation, and making the learning from this dialogue more widely available to policy makers, practitioners and researchers across Europe and in the South. Papers presented at the workshop are intended to be published in either book or journal form.
Workshop invited proposals for papers focusing on citizen participation and democratic engagement. These included discussions on: rules of inclusion, formal and informal relations with representative institutions, the outcomes of participation and mechanisms for the selection and channelling of civil society organisation; the ways in which citizens mobilise for democracy; the role of networks and others in mediating state-society relations, etc.
Particularly encouraged was thinking about the value of comparing experiences across the globe and papers that will raise issues for international dialogue. Authors were encouraged to link their discussion of citizen participation and democratic engagement to our broader themes:
• Methodological challenges: how can we learn from comparing experiences between North and South (or East and West)?
• How do different state actors understand or promote conceptions of participation?
• What are the challenges for citizens engaging in new governance spaces, and how do these challenges vary between countries?
• How do citizens’ strategies for participation and democratic engagement vary?
• What are the ‘dividends’ or outcomes of citizen engagement and participation for deepening democracy and achieving developmental results?About CINEFOGO
CINEFOGO is an acronym for Network of Excellence “Civil Society and New Forms of Governance in Europe – the Making of European Citizenship”. CINEFOGO aims at enhancing the understanding of social and democratic processes, citizenship and democratic participation in Europe. It seeks to provide knowledge about civil society, citizenship and social protection, nourish a public debate on governance and strengthen intellectual co-operation. To learn more on CINEFOGO, visit http://www.cinefogo.org(opens in new window) or send an e-mail to cinefogo@ruc.dk. The CINEFOGO Network of Excellence is supported by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme, Priority 7: New Forms of Citizenship and Cultural Identities of the European Union.