Citizen Participation for Better Cohesion Policy

4. Beyond experimentation: Transforming local governance to embed meaningful participation in Cohesion Policy

Abstract

This chapter looks at the impact of citizen participation on public administrations, namely at the regional and local levels. It builds on the experience of the pilots to discuss policy and governance actions governments can undertake to design and implement meaningful and impactful participation. Finally, it outlines a set of key actions to embed and mainstream citizen participation in Cohesion Policy.

Beyond their direct benefits for public policies and societal outcomes, the experience of the pilots acted as a catalyser for important shifts in the administrative and governance cultures of the local authorities involved. By experimenting with participatory and deliberative approaches in real policy contexts, public administrations not only improved the quality of the process and results of policymaking but also developed new ways of working that emphasise openness, collaboration, and responsiveness to citizens’ needs. However, sustaining and scaling these effects requires going beyond one-off initiatives and addressing participation as a core governance process. To this end, governments need to act on multiple fronts: (1) setting the right preconditions that enable participation, (2) reinforcing institutional capacities, (3) strengthening vertical and horizontal coordination across levels of government and policy areas (4) moving from ad hoc initiatives towards the institutionalisation of citizen participation. All these elements are needed to embed meaningful participatory practices throughout the Cohesion Policy cycle.

This chapter assesses how these dimensions were advanced through the pilot initiatives and identifies concrete pathways to consolidate and mainstream these positive changes in local governance. Drawing on the experience of participating regions and cities, it highlights the enabling conditions, tools and governance arrangements needed to equip managing authorities and local governments across the European Union with the capabilities to transform public governance for participation in a sustainable and scalable way.

Strengthening the preconditions that enable meaningful participation

Prior to the design and implementation of participatory processes, citizen participation requires adequate institutional scaffolding. The following preconditions are key to enable a favourable environment for meaningful processes to take place:

• Legal framework: A clear legal basis is essential to guarantee participation. This includes legislation that establishes requirements for public institutions at all levels to involve citizens, as well as laws on access to information that ensure transparency and accountability. For example, in Emilia Romagna, in 2010 the region adopted a law that encourages citizen participation in public policy making particularly for strategic choices and enables regional grants to support such processes. In 2018, the region adopted Regional Law No. 15/2018, which entirely replaced and updated the 2010 act. This updated legislation broadened the types of private entities entitled to participate and allowed for citizen engagement directly at all stages of policymaking, from deign to evaluation (Emilia-Romagna Region, 2018[1]). Box ‎4.1 provides further information on the legal and policy framework of Catalonia, which presents a long-standing tradition of participation in policymaking.

• Policy framework: Participation should ideally be integrated into policy frameworks. The existence of policies that promote and mainstream participatory practices throughout the policy cycle, at all levels of government, help ensure continuity and coherence. This can be done through the adoption of a specific policy on participation providing a whole-of-government blueprint or by ensuring participatory approaches are integrated in all sectoral policies. For example, the Banská Bystrica Open Government Roadmap 2030 establishes a strategic vision for citizen participation as part of the open government policy and lists specific processes like the city’s participatory budget and the use of the digital platform DECIDIM for consultations (Open Government Partnership, 2024[2]). The Roadmap document drafted by the OECD to support Silesia in removing obstacles and foster innovative citizen participation includes recommendations on building a more favourable policy environment for participation.

• Institutional arrangements: Effective participation also requires clear responsibilities and adequate human, financial, and technical capacities within public institutions. These conditions enable authorities to design, implement, and follow up on participatory processes in a professional and sustainable way. For example, the Department of Communications and Transportation of the Metropolitan Office of GZM allocated both human, technical and financial resources including internal and external experts, facilitators, and evaluators for the deliberative process to be designed and implemented. The partner institution of the GZM pilot, the Centre for European Transport Projects of Poland, created a team dedicated to citizen participation as a result of the GZM pilot experience. The Lazio Region introduced a clause in the Guidelines to the implementation of the Integrated Territorial Strategies that allows municipalities to request dedicated support and resources when designing and implementing a civic monitoring process.

Box ‎4.1. A sound environment for participatory processes in Catalonia

An example of a robust enabling environment for meaningful participation can be found in Catalonia in Spain. The region benefits from a long-standing culture and tradition of participatory practices, supported by legal frameworks, dedicated offices and institutions, sustained political will, and broad interest in participation in and out of government. In addition, capacities and skills are well developed among civil servants, civil society organisations, and citizens alike, creating the conditions for participation to be both effective and sustainable.

Legal framework: Law 10/2014 of 26 September, on non-referendum popular consultations and other forms of citizen participation. This law establishes the legal framework, modalities, and procedures for popular consultations and other institutional participation mechanisms within the scope of the Generalitat and local entities.

Institutional arrangements: The Government of Catalonia set up dedicated teams (under the open government unit) to design and implement participatory processes in the Region. To facilitate coordination, the Interministerial Commission on Open Government and its Technical Commission on Citizen Participation gathers public authorities from across the Region to support coordination and exchanges. Civil servants have guidelines and toolkits at their disposal, as well as trainings and capacity building activities.

Digital democracy: Catalonia’s portal for citizen participation “Participa.gencat.cat” is a one-stop-shop for institutional participation including consultations, citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting and community events. The open-source digital platform Decidim was developed in Barcelona and Catalonia context and has since been used internationally.

Innovative participation: The region is at the forefront of democratic innovations, including the use of deliberative processes such as Catalonia’s Climate Citizen Assembly organised in 2023 which gathered 100 randomly selected citizens to deliberate on the deployment of renewable energies and the model for future food consumption.

Source: https://governobert.gencat.cat/ca/participacio-ciutadana/; https://presidencia.bibliotecadigital.gencat.cat/handle/20.500.14623/491.

Enhancing institutional capacities to build a culture of participation

Institutional capacities for participation encompass the skills, practices and learning opportunities required by governments, civil society and citizens to design, implement and engage in participatory public decision making. Strengthening these capacities involves raising awareness of the benefits of participation, building the skills of public officials and civil society organisations, and creating regular opportunities for citizen participation (OECD, 2024[3]).

Across all pilots, with support from the OECD and DG REGIO, public officials and civil society organisations received targeted training on participatory and deliberative methods, complemented by peer-to-peer exchanges in online and in-person formats. Close to 60 participants were trained, with implementation led by the pilots themselves, fostering hands-on learning and practical experience. In several cases - including Râmnicu Vâlcea, GZM, Cantabria and Banská Bystrica - pilot implementers became reference points on participation within their administrations and for the wider DG REGIO community.

Citizen participation processes also contribute to developing “democratic skills” such as critical thinking, dialogue, deliberation and collaboration among both citizens and civil servants, strengthening civic culture and democratic resilience over time. At the same time, they offer opportunities for public authorities to establish lasting “democratic infrastructures” that support future engagement and generate economies of scale (OECD, 2024[3]). These can include digital platforms for participation, dedicated teams or units, and partnerships with civil society and experts. All these elements help embed a culture of participation within and beyond government.

Individual pilots illustrate how these capacities and administrative foundations were developed in practice:

In Normandy, the Region’s Modernisation Department expanded its expertise beyond public service design by applying its knowledge of collective intelligence to citizen participation processes, increasing both internal capacity and awareness of existing capabilities.

Emilia Romagna and South-Muntenia developed toolkits, methodological guidelines and requirements for civil servants within Cohesion Policy processes, helping to embed participatory practices in administrative routines and culture.

In Silesia, peer exchanges and the development of a roadmap provided practical and actionable guidance for strengthening and expanding citizen participation practices.

Banská Bystrica, with OECD support, adopted a digital participation platform based on the open-source software Decidim as a one-stop shop for citizen engagement in the city (see Box ‎4.2). The pilot also strengthened the national Open Government initiative - its main implementer - and led to the creation of a municipal unit for participation and innovation (2024[4]). Similarly, South-Muntenia assessed the need for a digital platform for participation, which is currently being adapted to the Regions’ needs.

Box ‎4.2. Banská Bystrica digital democracy platform

In 2022, the Functional Urban Area (FUA) of Banská Bystrica in the Slovak Republic, which includes the city and 18 surrounding municipalities, aimed to develop a new Integrated Territorial Strategy (ITS), an instrument of European Cohesion Policy. With support from the OECD and DG REGIO, Banská Bystrica’s open government unit and the Dialogue Centre (a civil society organisation) decided to innovate by organising an Ideathon, a participatory process involving citizens, local actors, and stakeholders to generate ideas for the ITS 2021-2027.

For the first time, the city experimented with digital tools for participation, as the process included online surveys on Google Forms and an online voting phase hosted on the Consider.it platform. The Municipality expressed interest in going beyond this experimentation to build a digital infrastructure for participation. The OECD supported Banská Bystrica’s open government unit and the Dialogue Centre in developing internal support from the elected officials and other staff members, allocating some budget to the maintenance and installation costs, and building the skills necessary.

Banská Bystrica decided to build this platform using the open-source software Decidim which allows for different forms of participation from consultations, participatory budgeting, online voting, etc. The city’s digital platform was used in 2023 to run the city’s participatory budgeting, which saw an increase of voters from 400 to 1400 voters compared to its previous edition.

Source: (Gabadou, 2023[5]).

Overall, these efforts strengthened participatory capacities among public authorities, civil society and citizens, while establishing the administrative structures and tools needed to sustain participation over time.

Strengthening vertical and horizontal coordination

Ensuring alignment and coordination between the front and back-offices of participation is a current challenge in all OECD countries (OECD, 2024[6]). Participation gains impact when initiatives are coordinated across institutions, levels of government, and sectors, avoiding fragmentation, duplication, and participation fatigue. The OECD supported vertical coordination between the national (or regional) and local levels, as well as horizontal, across public institutions at the same level of government. In some cases, the pilots benefitted from existing coordination mechanisms set up by Cohesion Policy authorities and in other cases, dedicated efforts were deployed to ensure coordination and alignment. In Banská Bystrica, the process was coordinated by the Monitoring Committee which guides regional development and EU fund allocation in the Functional Urban Area of Banská Bystrica, which also includes 18 surrounding municipalities that together implement an Integrated Territorial Strategy (ITS) (RIS3, 2023[7]). In other cases, ad-hoc coordination was set up to ensure alignment and avoid the process to be isolated from broader participatory efforts. In Râmnicu Vâlcea, the OECD facilitated coordination between the Municipal authorities and the national government with regular online meetings. In GZM, public authorities ensured coordination among local (cities), Metropolitan (GZM) and national (CEUTP) levels which was an important condition for the process’ success. In Lazio, the Region and the CSO partner Monithon steered the project implemented by four municipalities. In Silesia, the analysis of existing capacities, opportunities and challenges of participation involved both the local and the regional level with the aim of strengthening coordination and better allocating resources in the future.

Moving beyond ad hoc towards institutionalised citizen participation

Moving from ad-hoc processes to a participatory culture requires that citizens’ involvement become a systematic and routine practice for public authorities. To support the use of participatory practices and make sure they extend beyond one-off initiatives that are too often dependent on political will, efforts should focus on institutionalising them structurally, by building legal frameworks, establishing dedicated units or structures, or embedding participation in administrative requirements (OECD, 2022[8]).

To move towards institutionalisation, some pilots triggered the adoption of local legislation to formalise participation and enable future processes. In Râmnicu Vâlcea and GZM, local councils adopted regulations establishing the conditions for organising deliberative processes: granting access to data for random selection, defining selection criteria, clarifying the role of deliberation, and setting expectations for outcomes (see Box ‎4.3). These resolutions not only provided a framework for the pilots themselves but also created the foundation for future initiatives, embedding participatory experimentation into local decision-making. In addition, the use of deliberative processes was later promoted in Romania’s open government National Action Plan as part of the country’s commitment to better involve citizens in policymaking (Open Government Partnership, 2024[9]). In South-Muntenia, the Managing Authority included participatory requirements and suggested methodologies in all the agreements signed with territorial authorities as part of the administrative procedure to distribute EU funds. In Brussels, the public authorities leveraged the pilot with the OECD and DG REGIO to review the Cohesion Policy project cycle and identify the optimal stages for citizen involvement, with a view to embedding participation within the administrative procedures of EU-funded projects. In Silesia, the pilot enabled an assessment of the quality of existing participation practices and paved the way for improvements and the adoption of innovative practices that went beyond minimal legal requirements.

Box ‎4.3. Local resolutions to enable deliberative democracy in Romania

The Citizen Jury of Râmnicu Vâlcea (Juriul Cetățenilor) was convened in 2024 with support from the OECD and the European Commission. It focused on urban mobility — how to make public transport and sustainable mobility more attractive and accessible. The jury produced a set of “Principles and Measures” which were submitted to the local authorities.

In 2023, the City Council issued Resolution 349/2023 to define the scope and methodology for the Citizen Jury, including detailed description and legal background for the civic lottery, and allocating public budget for its implementation. The Resolution defines key elements of a representative deliberative process including civic lottery, random sampling, representativeness criteria and embeds this mechanism into existing local governance (Council, County, etc.).

In 2025, the Council formally acknowledged the jury’s work and issued Resolution 25/2025 stating its official response. The Resolution recognises the Citizens’ Jury as a legitimate advisory body and its proposals as input to ongoing policy. The Council responded to all the recommendations and integrated those inputs into official planning instruments (Urban Mobility Plan, Urban Development Strategy, Green Plan) and committed to reporting back on progress.

• Art. 1: The Council officially took note of the jury’s principles and recommendations.

• Art. 2: The Council responded with a resolution presenting its point of view on each principle and measure.

• Art. 3: Implementation responsibility was assigned to the Local Development Directorate, the Chief Architect of the Municipality together with the Urban Planning Department, as well as to the public transportation operator with the Local Development Department in charge of coordinating the whole process.

Overall, these local resolutions provide a template for other municipal authorities and builds a legal basis for future deliberative processes in Râmnicu Vâlcea and in Romania.

Source: (City of Râmnicu Vâlcea, 2023[10]).

Other factors also support the shift away from ad-hoc participation, notably sustained political commitment, sufficient resources, and a culture of participation within and beyond government institutions.

Political will, combined with the allocation of sufficient financial, human, and technical resources, remains critical to ensure that participatory processes move beyond symbolic exercises and deliver meaningful results (OECD, 2022[8]). In all the pilots, there was a clear commitment from civil servants and Cohesion Policy authorities as it was a prerequisite to be selected as a pilot. Some pilots secured commitment from elected representatives to take into account the inputs received from citizens. For example, in GZM, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Normandie, Cantabria and Banská Bystrica, pilots organised public meetings with elected representatives including mayors, local councillors and national parliamentarians to present the project, build awareness and build the conditions for political support for both the process and its outcomes. In some cases, elected representatives joined the closing events to formally receive the results of the process and to acknowledge citizens’ effort.

Mainstreaming participation in Cohesion Policy

The findings of the DG REGIO report Forging a sustainable future together - Cohesion for a competitive and inclusive Europe: report of the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy highlight the importance of improving the governance of Cohesion Policy by increasingly involving the public and the beneficiaries of EU funds (European Comission, 2024[11]). Similarly, the findings of the Mid-Term Evaluation of the 2021-2027 Programming Period affirm that “the policy’s effectiveness is conditional on the quality of governance and administrative capacity. Partnership and multi-level governance have a clearly positive effect on programme design and implementation when they are applied effectively, but there is still room for improvement in the areas of stakeholder engagement and decision-making” (European Commission, 2025[12]). In this regard, the objectives of the OECD-DG REGIO project included to showcase the benefits of participatory processes for Cohesion Policy and to mainstream these practices by showing results.

The OECD – DG REGIO pilots enabled civil servants to become emerging champions of participation in their own country and within the Cohesion Policy community. In Râmnicu Vâlcea, GZM, Cantabria, and Normandy, the pilots marked the first implementation of deliberative processes in their respective contexts, and in Cohesion Policy. These cases now serve as references that can inspire other public authorities within their countries and across the European Union.

All pilots participated in peer-to-peer sessions sharing their experience and lessons learned from designing and implementing a participatory process. The pilots are contributing to a snowball effect, with other managing authorities and beneficiaries sharing their interest in having their participatory mechanism, alongside growing engagement from DG REGIO and the European Commission on how to embed participation in the Cohesion Policy cycle.

Conclusion

The 11 pilots implemented with the technical support of the OECD and DG REGIO provide compelling evidence of different ‘pathways’ through which citizens can shape Cohesion Policy. This report builds on the empirical results of three deliberative processes in France, Romania and Poland; one multistakeholder forum in Spain; a Student Assembly in Italy; an Ideathon in the Slovak Republic; a hybrid consultation in Romania; budget consultations in Spain, a civic monitoring exercise in Italy, and the development of tailored participatory methodologies and related capacities in Belgium and Poland.

The pilots demonstrate that citizen participation can take many forms and can be adapted to diverse institutional settings, policy issues, and territorial contexts. Across the pilots, a wide range of methods were tested, from deliberative processes to civic monitoring, digital consultations, and participatory budgeting, showing how citizen participation can enrich Cohesion Policy and make EU funds more relevant, effective, and legitimate. Several pilots were pioneering in their local contexts, offering practical demonstrations of what meaningful participation can look like in practice.

Citizen participation is not an ethical or political imperative, for either the public administration or for citizens (OECD, 2005[13]). Rather, it is a matter of better policy making and stronger democracies. Citizen participation adds value to policy making, both in the process and results, and to society at large. The EU acknowledged meaningful citizen participation as a strategic asset to achieve better policies and strengthen democracy by making it a crucial piece of its European Democracy Shield, which includes a pillar on Boosting Societal Resilience and civic engagement. Moreover, the European Commission’s Strategy for Civil Society published in 2025 sets out concrete actions at the EU and national level to “strengthen effective and meaningful engagement with civil society as a partner in governance”. The European Commission’s Recommendation on promoting the engagement and effective participation of citizens and civil society organisations in public policy-making processes further indicates the growing recognition of the importance of citizen participation (European Commission, 2023[14]; European Commission, 2025[12]; European Commission, 2025[15]).

The pilots provided evidence that when citizens are invited into the policy process, public authorities gain access to lived experience, identify blind spots that institutions may overlook, and design interventions that better reflect territorial needs. Participation also contributes to longer-term benefits, including stronger democratic skills, and greater trust in public institutions. Furthermore, the experience of the pilots triggered positive changes in the local administrations involved, which developed new capacities and adapted their processes towards greater openness and responsiveness.

This report also analysed the challenges encountered by the pilots and that resonate with broader barriers identified previously by the OECD (OECD, 2022[8]; OECD, 2024[6]). Namely, some of the pilots faced low level of political buy-in, isolation from policymaking cycle, limited resources, and uneven capacities and skills in and out of government. Many of these barriers could be addressed at the Cohesion Policy level. In the forthcoming programming cycles, DG REGIO could embed – or make mandatory – the use of participatory process as part of Cohesion Policy, in the programming or administrative cycle, and allocate dedicated funds for managing authorities to support the implementation. To increase capacities and mainstream participation in Cohesion Policy, DG REGIO could also continue the pilot approach to build additional evidence and practical knowledge on how to involve citizens in a meaningful way.

Beyond the pilot approach, as the European Commission begins work on the design the next Cohesion Policy cycle (2028-2034), there is an opportunity to further embed citizen participation, namely by: (1) working with Managing Authorities in shaping the next cycle in line with citizens’ needs; and (2) working with Beneficiaries when deciding, implementing, and monitoring the allocation of EU Cohesion Policy funds.

Next steps: Key actions for Cohesion Policy to increase the value and impact of participation

According to the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy (2024[11]), Cohesion Policy needs to reject ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches and become more place and people-based, by enhancing stakeholder involvement, including civil society and citizens. This calls for increasing participatory approach to programme planning, implementation, and evaluation. According to the final report on the future of Cohesion Policy, “the objective is not just about building and simplifying administrative capacity. It is also about strengthening democracy and addressing political discontent with European integration through enhanced institutions with better local and regional participation” (European Comission, 2024[11]). It recommends to (1) enhance participatory approaches to promote a policy dialogue that involves all groups in society, (2) promote stakeholder engagement to ensure varied perspectives in policymaking, and (3) foster the involvement all groups in society, especially those in vulnerable situations (European Comission, 2024[11]). Citizen participation is therefore not a “nice-to-have” but a strategic imperative for the legitimacy and success of Cohesion Policy (European Comission, 2024[11]). Cohesion Policy must evolve to effectively address the structural challenges confronting the EU and continue to improve the well-being of all Europeans (European Comission, 2024[11]). In the context of both important budget restrictions and rising demands for effective socio-economic policies and outcomes across the EU, there is a significant political risk in failing to involve citizens more meaningfully in defining priorities and shaping policies.

As the Future of Cohesion Policy report makes clear, the next programming period of Cohesion Policy must be more people-centred and responsive to territorial realities. The eleven pilots offer evidence and insights, showing what is possible, revealing the existing barriers and generating practical lessons that align with broader OECD evidence on citizen participation. Taken together, these learnings point to a series of actions that can help embed participation more meaningfully across Cohesion Policy.

• Promoting stronger political and institutional commitment to participation: To make participation a credible and sustained element of Cohesion Policy, the European Commission, national authorities, managing authorities and beneficiaries should signal clear political commitment, integrate participation into key guidance documents and create enabling conditions that encourage its systematic use.

• Strengthening multi-level coordination for participation: Managing authorities could establish coordination mechanisms with other levels of government (in particular municipal and regional actors) to align participation efforts, share expertise and avoid fragmentation. Formalised cooperation through joint actions, shared guidance or learning networks could help deliver more coherent and context-appropriate citizen participation across the Cohesion Policy cycle.

• Helping citizens and stakeholders navigate participatory processes: Public authorities could design and communicate participatory processes in ways that make it easy for citizens to understand the purpose of the process, what is expected of them and what they can expect in return. Clear information not only supports meaningful participation but also helps citizens navigate public institutions more broadly, strengthening their understanding of how government works across different levels.

• Securing adequate and sustainable resources for participation: Public authorities require dedicated human, financial and technical resources to plan and implement participatory processes. DG REGIO and national managing authorities could consider setting aside specific budget lines for participation within programmes to support activities such as human resources, facilitation, translation, outreach and digital tools. Foreseeable resources could enable authorities to design more ambitious and meaningful processes.

• Embedding participation throughout the Cohesion Policy cycle: Citizen participation should be integrated at key stages of Cohesion Policy from programming and project selection to implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Developing clear guidance on when and how participation can inform cohesion decisions would support systematic use, ensure relevance at different stages, and strengthen the link between citizen input and final outcomes.

• Building and mobilising participatory capacities across institutions and territories: Managing authorities could deepen their understanding of citizen participation and, where possible, develop the internal capacities and resources needed to design and implement participatory processes. They could also map the existing ecosystem of actors involved in EU-funded projects, including regional and municipal authorities, as well as non-governmental stakeholders (CSOs or participation-oriented stakeholders), to identify and mobilise existing skills and experience. Levelling up these capacities would support more coherent, effective, and context-appropriate participation across the Cohesion Policy cycle.

Concerning immediate next steps, there is a clear opportunity for DG REGIO to support a new phase of work focusing on two complementary directions:

• From experimentation to capacity-building at the Managing Authority level: Sustained progress will require dedicated capacities, skills, and resources within Managing Authorities to embed participation throughout the Cohesion Policy cycle. Strengthened administrative capacity is essential to make participation routine rather than exceptional.

• Continuing and expanding experimentation at the city and local levels: a key lesson from the OECD-DG REGIO pilots is that the city and municipal levels can serve as laboratories for democratic innovation. In line with the Agenda for Cities championed by Commissioner Fitto, further experimentation in urban areas could “empower cities to tackle local challenges such as housing, energy costs and the green transition, while contributing to wider EU objectives” (European Commission, 2025[16]). Additional pilots at the city level would generate practical insights, strengthen peer learning, and help local authorities demonstrate the value of citizen participation in designing and implementing more responsive territorial policies.

References

[10] City of Râmnicu Vâlcea (2023), City Council Resolution 349/2023, https://hcl.usr.ro/ramnicu_valcea/2023/h349; https://hcl.usr.ro/ramnicu_valcea/2025/h25.

[1] Emilia-Romagna Region (2018), LEGGE SULLA PARTECIPAZIONE ALL’ELABORAZIONE DELLE POLITICHE PUBBLICHE. ABROGAZIONE DELLA LEGGE REGIONALE 9 FEBBRAIO 2010, N. 3, https://demetra.regione.emilia-romagna.it/al/articolo?urn=er:assemblealegislativa:legge:2018;15.

[11] European Comission (2024), Forging A Sustainable Future Together: Cohesion for A Competitive and Inclusive Europe: Report of the High-Level Group on the Future of Cohesion Policy, https://doi.org/10.2776/974536.

[16] European Commission (2025), Commission proposes EU agenda for cities to shape Europe’s urban future, https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/whats-new/newsroom/12-03-2025-commission-proposes-eu-agenda-for-cities-to-shape-europe-s-urban-future_en.

[15] European Commission (2025), European Democracy Shield: Empowering Strong and Resilient Democracies, https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/2539eb53-9485-4199-bfdc-97166893ff45_en.

[12] European Commission (2025), Mid-Term Evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund - Executive Summary, https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/reports/2025/SWD_2025_327_F1_SWD_EVALUATION_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY_EN_V6_P1_4373706.pdf.

[14] European Commission (2023), Recommendation on the participation of citizens and civil society organisations in public policy-making, https://commission.europa.eu/document/fcb629fe-ca20-4019-b1f6-392c286fdedf_en.

[5] Gabadou, E. (2023), Banská Bystriça: from ideathon to digital democracy, https://medium.com/participo/bansk%C3%A1-bystri%C3%A7a-from-ideathon-to-digital-democracy-5f8eddf55b50.

[4] Municipality of Banská Bystrica (2024), Final report of the Ideathon on the Integrated Territorial Strategy of the Functional Urban Area Banská Bystrica 2022 – 2027, https://www.banskabystrica.sk/samosprava/otvorena-samosprava-ogp-local/participativne-planovanie/integrovana-uzemna-strategia-udrzatelneho-mestskeho-rozvoja-banska-bystrica/planovane-podujatia/.

[6] OECD (2024), Exploring New Frontiers in Citizen Participation in the Policy Cycle, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/77f5098c-en.

[3] OECD (2024), Promoting Deliberative Democracy in the Basque Country in Spain: Lessons from the Tolosa Citizens’ Assembly, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/544f7514-en.

[8] OECD (2022), OECD Guidelines for Citizen Participation Processes, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/f765caf6-en.

[13] OECD (2005), Evaluating Public Participation in Policy Making, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264008960-en.

[2] Open Government Partnership (2024), Action plan – Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic, 2024 – 2026, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/action-plan-banska-bystrica-slovak-republic-2024-2026/.

[9] Open Government Partnership (2024), Romania Action Plan 2025-2027, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Romania_Action-Plan_2025-2027_EN.pdf.

[7] RIS3 (2023), Ideathon Funkční městské oblasti Banská Bystrica, https://ris3.gov.cz/ideathon-funkcni-mestske-oblasti-banska-bystrica.