Citizen Participation for Better Cohesion Policy

This report shares insights from the 11 pilot initiatives of the project “Innovative Implementation of the Partnership Principle in EU Cohesion Policy”, a partnership between the OECD and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). The pilots involved local authorities and civil society organisations from regions and cities across seven European Union countries: Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic, and Spain. The project tested participatory methods in real settings to understand what works in different governance and policy contexts, and identify the conditions needed to embed meaningful participation in the Cohesion Policy cycle.