Accelerating trends of globalisation, digitalisation, changing demographics and ecological interdependence mean that policy makers are increasingly called upon to address nested and interrelated policy problems, under conditions of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. While ‘everyday’ policy issues still occupy a fair share of policy makers’ attention, and will always benefit from citizen participation, it is in tackling ‘fundamental’ policy choices that inclusive and meaningful citizen participation becomes essential. Indeed, these complex policy issues do not have simple ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ solutions but rather involve decisions with trade-offs between the long term and the short term, across different groups in society, between regions and countries. Yet as the 2024 OECD Trust Survey demonstrates it is also on those complex matters that the room for manoeuvre for regaining citizens’ trust in national government is the largest.
Indeed, in addition to a change in the nature of policy decisions, the expectations of citizens on how they should be involved in those complex decisions has also changed. Citizens in OECD Member countries today are better educated, live longer, travel further afield and are more globally connected than any previous generation. The proliferation of social media platforms has meant that individual citizens are now active content creators, curators and disseminators at a scale unheard of before with profound implications for citizens’ voice, agency and their ability to pursue collective action.
Citizens recognise this shift is underway. The latest data from the 2024 OECD Trust Survey shows that people express lower levels of trust in governments’ capacity to deal with the complex, long-term challenges now facing their countries than they do based on their day-to-day interactions with public services. Across the 30 OECD countries that were surveyed, 44% of respondents have low or no trust in their national government, outweighing the 39% who express high or moderately high trust. Only 37% believe the government will be fair in balancing the interests of different generations. On average across countries, 42% of respondents are confident that the country will succeed in reducing greenhouse gas emissions over the coming ten years, compared to 35% who lack confidence. Only four in ten people (41%) find it likely that the national government would adequately regulate new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and digital applications, and help businesses and citizens use them responsibly, while more than one third (35%) think it unlikely. Over half (53%) believe that the political system does not allow people like them to have a say. A renewed commitment to meaningful and inclusive citizen participation in policymaking will be central to building trust, resilient democracies and empowering citizens.
