Demsoc works across Europe, and very often also outside capitals and government buildings. One of the most striking projects in recent years was Le Agorà di Messina, which ran over the course of a year in Sicily and was entirely designed and executed by the citizens taking part, supported by Demsoc. Francesca Attolino and Ivan […]
Category archives: Uncategorised
#demsoc10 Collaborative Government in Scotland
The #demsoc10 post we planned for today has been slightly delayed by engineering works and Storm Ciara, so tonight Anthony looks back at our first project in Scotland. Demsoc started life in Brighton, and our first office and team was based there. Much of our early work was with local government, and we’ll share some […]
#demsoc10 How to spend a hundred billion euros
All this month, we are looking back at Demsoc projects from our last ten years. Today, Anthony looks at our 2018 report on how to involve citizens in decision making on research spending. Most of the work that we do at Demsoc is practical, in that we are asked to work and test things with […]
#demsoc10 Beating the language barrier in Brussels
Yesterday, as part of the #demsoc10 series celebrating ten years of Demsoc projects, we discussed a huge project that didn’t end up changing the world. Today, Anthony talks about a small project that might be a hint of things to come. In 2018, 99 European citizens from 27 countries, speaking 23 languages, gathered for a […]
#demsoc10 The beauty, the terror, and NHS Citizen
During February, to celebrate 10 years since our first project, we’re looking back at some of the highlights. Today, our Treasurer Catherine Howe looks back at the glory and the pain that was NHS Citizen. The ambition of NHS Citizen was either incredibly audacious or unbelievably naïve – how do you create a meaningful democratic […]
Innovation in Democracy Programme #demsoc10
We’re looking back over the past 10 years of Demsoc projects during February. Yesterday, we looked at our very first project. Today, Kevin Ditcham from our local democracy team looks at one of our most recent ones – the Innovation in Democracy Programme! The Innovation in Democracy Programme was exactly what it set out to […]
Making the financial case #demsoc10
All through February, we are revisiting some of the 150-plus projects we have undertaken since 2010. Today, Anthony Zacharzewski looks back at our very first one. Lurking still in a remote corner of our website is the output of our very first project – Democracy Pays, a short white paper commissioned by Public-i on the financial benefit of opening up local government to greater participation, published in spring 2010. It seems an obvious question – does participatory democracy […]
10 years on
Ten years ago, I started Demsoc’s first project. The desk where I worked was in the spare room of my house in Hanover, Brighton. Demsoc had been around for a while before 2010 – it started as a broad concept in about 2003, then with the help of four friends became an organisation in 2006. […]
Conference on the Future of Europe: Comparing and Contrasting
This is the second in Demsoc’s series of blogs, laying out our thoughts on the Conference on the Future of Europe. Here, we compare and contrast not just best practice examples of citizen engagement across Europe, but also the statements laid out by different European institutions in recent weeks, on the upcoming Conference. Below, we […]
Conference on the Future of Europe: Principles and Exemplars
Brussels is buzzing with talk of the forthcoming Conference on the Future of Europe. The Commission, the Council and the Parliament have all been thinking individually about how to plan the future governance of the EU, in a two-year process that will involve all the institutions, and which – we are promised – will have […]