We are interested in assessing the normaive implications of the institutionalization of participatory devices for democratic policy-making, for requirements of representativeness and accountability and for public control over binding collective decisions.

Enhancing participation of citizens and associations in democratic policy processes has been told to be a useful way to overcome the so-called crises of politics, the growing dissatisfaction with mechanisms of representative systems expressed in declining electoral turnout and decreasing trust in conventional political actors.

There is evidence that both direct and indirect forms of participation have been enhanced: the increasing number of referenda, consultation processes, deliberative fora that are taking place are but three examples of a renewed and diffused interest in getting citizens and civil society organisations involved in policy processes at all territorial levels in all EU member states.

Innovative devices for deepening citizens participation – like participatory budgeting and citizens juries - have been created and embedded in policy processes, and are attracting growing interest. Furthermore, a special attention is given to the potential of civil society organisations for delivering effective and legitimate policy solutions. Particularly at the EU level, where participation of citizens is equated with participation of associations of citizens, new formal channels for participation of organised civil society in policy formulation have been established.

A cursory analysis of different experiences highlights the great variety of solutions that have been implemented in different contexts and in different policy areas within the common framework of civil society and citizens’ participation.  To give just an example, empirical research suggests that, in terms of criteria for the process of selection of citizens to be involved, participants can be elected, or can be appointed by political authorities or by associations with an interest in the field, can be randomly sampled, or self-selected. Participants can be involved as experts, as representatives of a particular territorial constituency or of a social group, as representatives of influential organisations, as stakeholders, or as citizens. Such variation in “democratic experimentation” represents a largely unexplored field and a challenge for both empirical research and normative reflection on democracy.

From a normative point of view, the institutionalisation of new participatory devices and more generally the inclusion of individual and social actors in decision-making processes raise a number of interesting questions about political equality, representation, accountability and legitimacy. The workshop aims at addressing some of these questions, focussing on:

• What weight should conclusions reached through participation have in decision making?  Is participation bought at the expense of accountability?
• How representative can civil society organisations claim to be?
• Which kinds of formal relationships between elected representatives and consulted social actors have to be established?
• What are the implications of new participatory practices on officials, civil servants and  professionals working with (often in between) elected representatives and civil society actors?
• What are the conceptions of participation and representation that are emphasised by relevant institutional and social actors? What are the repercussions for established understandings of political accountability?

The workshop aims at putting together scholars who are involved in research on changes in the  well-established decision-making process in representative institutions due to the institutionalisation of participatory devices, and have an interest in addressing the normative implications of such changes for democratic policy processes.

The WP30M is built on the work undertaken for the work package on “Citizens Participation in Policy-Making” (wp14), and in particular for the first wp14 conference that took place in Bristol in February 2007. More than 60 papers, mainly with an empirical focus, have been presented and are currently available for consultation and download at: http://cinefogoconference.pbwiki.com