For the sixth year in a row, in 2023, deliberative democracy experts and practitioners from all over the world came together to share knowledge and meet new as well as old colleagues at the annual meeting for the network Democracy R&D. That year, the conference was hosted by the Danish partners We Do Democracy and The Danish Board of Technology and took place at the innovation and democracy hub Demokratigarage in Nordvest, Copenhagen.
Under the annual theme “Let’s give democracy an overhaul!”, the network had taken out the cars and instead brought democracy into the garage for thorough maintenance, repair, and overhaul of all its nooks and crannies.
With over 32 network-curated workshops on topics ranging from institutionalizing deliberation and system changes to inclusivity and participatory budgeting, alongside open space, inspire, and learning sessions, the network took a deep dive into the state of deliberative democracy and turned Demokrati Garage into a democracy repair shop with meaningful discussions, disagreements, and collaborations.
About the conference
The annual conference of Democracy R&D took place on 4-5 October 2023 in Copenhagen, Denmark, hosted by We Do Democracy (WDD) and the Danish Board of Technology (DBT). The main conference venue was the Demokrati Garage (an old car repair shop converted into a space for democracy events), and inspired by this, the conference theme was “Let’s give democracy an overhaul!”
We removed the cars and brought democracy into the garage for thorough maintenance, repair, and overhaul of all its nooks and crannies.
What needed fixing, what needed to be greased, and which bolts needed to be tightened for the engine to run smoothly? Together, the Democracy R&D network filled the garage to make up a democracy repair shop during a two-day creative deep dive into the state of deliberative democracy. There, we developed and cooperated to find solutions and overcome barriers.
In the spirit of that year’s theme, we strove to make this the most action-oriented annual conference to date—where people not only networked and learned but also worked on things together and perhaps even launched collaborative projects afterward.
You can find an overview of the programme for the official conference on October 4-5 complemented by the optional pre- and post-conference events on October 3 and 6, by visiting programme or clicking this link.
Network, network, and more network – it’s all about people!
Contributors
Democracy R&D works to collaboratively develop, implement, and promote ways to improve democracy, from the local to the global level. The network consists of 189 organisations and individuals in 55 countries on 6 continents – and is still growing – who are united in that: We randomly select participants to achieve a group that broadly reflects the diverse demographics and perspectives of the community, region, or society in question; We give participants access to quality, balanced information and a mix of relevant experts; We help participants deliberate about the issue in question and work through their differences with the help of skilled facilitators.
We Do Democracy are advisors, entrepreneurs and corporate activists working for more and better democracy. Strengthening our common language about democracy, redesigning and revitalizing participation and processes in order to increase citizens’ participation, political innovation t and democratic leadership. They are one of the leading partners in driving the deliberative wave in the Nordic countries having organized, designed and moderated a range of citizens’ assemblies on both national, regional, municipal and organisational levels. They are also the founders of Demokrati Garage
Danish Board of Technology is one of the founding partners of Democracy R&D. Since the 1980’s they have worked to ensure that society’s development is shaped by informed and forward-looking cooperation between citizens, experts, stakeholders, and decision-makers. They have designed and implemented a range of different engagement and co-creation methods at the local, national, European and global level, including the Conference on the Future of Europe and subsequent European Citizen’s Panels, the Consensus Conference and World Wide Views, and a host of local and national deliberative processes. This year DBT merged with the Danish organisation DeltagerDanmark which has established itself as an expert in community organizing to strengthen the ability of citizens, political institution, and organisations to achieve goals through participation.
Demokrati Garage is an innovation hub and meeting place for democratic innovation and everyday participation. In a hybrid leadership model the private company Demokrati Garage and the association with the same name work together to create a space for the democracy sector and people at large can meet and work and rebuild democracy for the better.
CitizenLab is an online community engagement platform for local governments. Engage more people, manage input easily and drive better decisions.
TrygFonden is a Danish charitable foundation that primarily focuses on promoting safety and well-being in Denmark. Established in 2011, it operates as an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting initiatives and projects that improve the safety and quality of life for Danish citizens.
Open Society Foundations is the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights founded by George Soros.
The University of Copenhagen is the largest and oldest university in Denmark, known for its world-class research and education across various disciplines.
Documentation
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On this webpage, you will find materials documenting the Democracy R&D Annual Conference 2023 held in Copenhagen on the 4th & 5th of October: session reports & materials, pictures, plenary video recordings and a short aftermovie.
Session reports & materials
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You can view and download the full session documentation report in PDF here.
Plenary session South-North (un)learning
WS 01 Minimum viable components of a healthy democracy
WS 02 Importance of TV media for civic engagement and deliberation – case of Georgia
WS 03 Learnings from the European Citizens’ Panels
WS 04 Democracy Labs: field catalysts for a more inclusive and futureproof society
WS 05 How to involve citizens in Mega projects – urban development and infrastructure deliberated
WS 06 Building Braver Spaces for Deliberation: Inclusivity and Intersectionality
WS 07 Assemble: Collaboratively Developing a Digital Tool for Planning, Running, and Scaling Citizen’ Assemblies
WS 08 Are some issues too hard for deliberation? What have we learned and what needs to change?
WS 09 Setting up and hosting permanent databases for deliberative mini-publics
WS 10 Strategies for strengthening environments for deliberation in the Global South: the Brazilian case
WS 11 Catalyst Action Groups for Seeding Democracy in Ukraine
WS 12 System change: Taking citizens’ assemblies to the next level, or breaking the model?
WS 13 The democratic Odyssey: a crowdsourced permanent European Citizens Assembly, yes, but how?
WS 14 How do we scale citizens’ assemblies? Democratic Action Funds can accelerate the number of deliberative platforms and level the playing field for all to participate
WS 16 Hybrid Formats: A Better Mix for Citizens and Public Officials?
WS 17 Making The Most Of Our Time Together
WS 18 A learning session: Big cities and citizen assemblies – strategies, learnings and future
WS 19 Mapping the Local Democracy Ecosystem: A Tool for Network Building and Collaboration
WS 20 Thinking outside of the deliberative box: what other tools are out there that give people a seat at the policy making table?
WS 21 How to include citizen perspectives in problem framing: Lessons from governing emerging technologies
WS 22 Talking Global: Supporting a Public Movement
WS 24 Call to Action: What’s up with Participatory Budgeting!
WS 25 Political buy-in or political takeover
WS 26 Bridging Research and Practice: Advancing Equity in Deliberative Democracy
WS 27 Don’t Sell a Porsche and Deliver a Beetle
WS 28 Realising Cross-Border Citizen Participation – Experiences and Challenges
WS 29 Youth Deliberation
WS 30 Selection and Presentation of Evidence in Climate Assemblies
WS 32 Crowdsourcing Democracy? Trends, Potentials, and Risks of AI-assisted Digital Tools for Participation
Aftermovie & plenary recordings
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Aftermovie: Video of the conference atmosphere
Videos from plenary sessions during the Democracy Innovation Summit (3 October 2023) and the Democracy R&D Annual Conference (4-5 October 2023):
- Democracy Innovation Summit – Democratic Innovations in a Green Transition (DIGT)
- Democracy Innovation Summit – Nicole Curato
- Democracy Innovation Summit – Jane Suiter
- Democracy Innovation Summit – Jon Alexander
- Democracy Innovation Summit – Panel discussion
- Democracy R&D Annual Conference – Peter MacLeod & Rune Lykkeberg
- Democracy R&D Annual Conference – Inspire Session
- Democracy R&D Annual Conference – South-North (un)learning
- Democracy R&D Annual Conference – Demokrati Fitness
Programe
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Take a look at the detailed programme for the official conference days on the 4th and 5th of October 2023. All times are given in Central European Summer Time (CEST). At the bottom of the page you can read and download the programme, description of the workshops, and description of the pre- and post-conference activities as pdf.