In 2024, the City of Gothenburg took a major step toward strengthening local democracy by launching a shared digital tool for participatory budgeting and other citizen engagement processes. The advantage of using a citywide platform is that it creates equal conditions for participation across the city. By adopting a common platform for participatory budgeting and democratic processes, all departments and municipal companies can work in a more coordinated, transparent, and efficient way with citizen dialogue. It also provides residents with a clear and consistent path into the city’s decision-making processes, making it easier to understand how they can participate—regardless of where in the city they live.

Digidem Lab has contributed to the development of this tool through the open-source platform Decidim, offering expertise in digital participation, process design, and strategic guidance to tailor and implement the platform according to the city’s needs. The platform is hosted on the city’s own servers and was launched at the turn of the year 2024–2025. It is now available to all departments and municipal companies, and three processes have already started. Digidem Lab will continue to support the initiative throughout 2025.

The project aims to:

• Increase local engagement and strengthen both local and digital democracy in Gothenburg.
• Improve the city’s capacity to identify local challenges and co-create solutions with citizens, civil society, and other stakeholders.
• Facilitate and streamline the implementation of local democracy initiatives within city departments and companies.
• Boost public trust in the city’s democratic efforts through transparency and visibility.