Democracy and public governance

Portfolio overview

Democratic values are under attack, and democratic bodies are gradually being eroded as citizens feel disconnected from policy and decision-making processes. At the same time, the complexity of today's significant challenges demand new policy solutions and public governance models.   

This portfolio addresses these challenges and aims to inform policy to rebuild trust in democracy. Different research streams collaborate to better understand how to enhance resilience of public governance systems at EU level, in Member States and beyond. This includes the design and testing of participatory, transdisciplinary and place-based approaches, to more closely align with the realities for citizens.

Objectives

Help public administrations tackle complex challenges 
Tackle challenges to democracy, security, digital transformation and sustainability, in line with EU and global policy goals.
Develop strategies to evaluate policy efficacy  
Collect evidence on effective innovative policies. Assess the barriers to achieving long-term system change. 
Define approaches for evidence-based innovation strategies  
Use evidence to support social, green and digital transitions. Identify innovation projects and policies through participatory approaches.  
Provide guidance on data and digital technologies 
Advise on digital technologies and data for trustworthy governance, protect European values and rights, and tackle digital threats. 
Help to build resilient democracies  
Identify and promote capacities within society and government needed for resilient democracies. Promote citizen engagement in policy and their digital and sustainability competencies. 
Use evidence to fight disinformation
Develop a strategy to tackle mis- and disinformation in the EU, and a political intelligence service built on text mining capacities, behavioural insights and citizens’ views. 
Better understand societal resilience
Develop indicator-based models of societal resilience to enable policymakers formulate more effective measures.