Objective
Public participation (PP) in sustainability governance has spread worldwide: green participatory budgeting counts thousands of cases, citizen assemblies shape national climate policies, and even authoritarian regimes experiment with consultative practices. Yet despite this global expansion, we still lack systematic knowledge of whether, how, and under what conditions PP advances sustainability, strengthens democracy, or delivers justice. Existing research remains fragmented—confined to individual case studies, regions, or sectors—leaving a major gap at a moment when societies urgently seek more effective and legitimate pathways to sustainability.
GAPS pioneers a breakthrough in comparative governance research. For the first time, it will assemble and analyze ~3,000 cases of PP from all world regions, covering diverse cultures, political regimes, and levels of development. This is made possible by a methodological innovation: the large-scale application of advanced language models to systematically code rich qualitative case narratives. By combining case-based meta-analysis with AI-assisted coding, GAPS transforms what is possible in large-N social science, enabling rigorous cross-case comparisons to identify causal impact patthways, while preserving contextual depth.
With this, GAPS will deliver the first global, theory-driven model of participatory sustainability governance. It will generate robust mid-range propositions on how participation succeeds—or fails—in fostering sustainability, democracy, and justice across diverse contexts, identifying both synergies and trade-offs. The project thus promises a paradigm shift: replacing Western-centric theories of PP with globally grounded explanations, while inaugurating a new methodological paradigm for comparative research. The result will be a scientific evidence base—and a generative theory—that redefines how governance can harness participation to address urgent sustainability challenges of our time.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology governance
- social sciences political sciences government systems democracy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
21335 LUNEBURG
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.