Participatory Budget and Citizen Participation

DigiDem Lab supports organizations, city districts, municipalities, and public institutions in implementing effective and inclusive citizen participation processes, such as citizen dialogues and participatory budgeting.

We provide support through all stages of development, planning, and implementation of participatory processes to ensure inclusive engagement. As an official partner of the digital civic participation platform Decidim, we also develop and support digital participation in combination with process design and facilitation.

Development, planning and implementation of participatory processes

We offer support in all stages of developing, planning, and implementing citizen participation processes such as participatory budgeting and citizen dialogues. This may involve designing new processes, improving existing approaches, or carrying out larger participatory initiatives together with your organization. Digidem Lab designs citizen-centered processes with you, based on internationally established methods, with a particular focus on inclusion and on reaching underrepresented groups, thereby strengthening the relationship between residents and public institutions.

DigiDem Lab’s experience in citizen participation

DigiDem Lab has experience in designing and implementing participatory budgeting and participation processes in both local and international contexts. Among other projects, we have supported the housing company Poseidon in implementing a “participatory living budget” in Hjällbo, where residents were able to vote on how one million SEK should be allocated to local projects. In Malmö, together with Malmö Tillsammans and Växtvärket, we have developed and implemented participatory neighborhood budgets, where residents could submit proposals and vote on activities that strengthen community cohesion in the area. The process combined digital participation via Decidim with in-person meetings and local collaboration.

Internationally, DigiDem Lab has worked with cities such as Chicago and New York on the development of participatory budgeting processes. In Chicago, we supported the city’s transition to digital citizen participation during the pandemic through training, workshops, and the adaptation of processes across several districts, collectively engaging a very large number of participants over time. In New York, we worked on the design of the city’s youth participatory budgeting program, “It’s Our Money,” where digital and inclusive participation methods were used to enable broader engagement, including digital channels and complementary solutions to reach underrepresented groups without stable internet access

Ready to develop your work with citizen participation?

Citizen participation is an important part of the democratic development of the future. Through well-designed processes, public actors can strengthen trust, improve decision-making, and create more inclusive societies. Contact us to develop your citizen participation efforts.