Pilot project for civil society - fair taxation

Pilot project for civil society - fair taxation

Contact
Lucian Luca
Main Organisation
DG for Taxation and Customs Union

Description

As part of the EU’s agenda for fair and effective taxation, TAXUD ran a two-year pilot project to increase civil society's involvement in the campaign for fair taxation. The project was funded through a budget allocated by the European Parliament (€500 000 per year) and was carried out over a two-year period.

Between April and October 2018, fair taxation events were organised in 5 Member State capitals: Riga, Vienna, Paris, Rome and Dublin. The aim of the events was to raise awareness at national/local level of the EU agenda for fair taxation and to encourage national dialogue on this issue.  The events were open to civil society organisations, policy-makers, politicians, academics, business representatives and other interested stakeholders. Registrations were taken online, on a first-come, first-served basis. In total, around 350 people attended the 5 events with a fairly even distribution of the different interest groups. 

Participation Spectrum
Involve

When and Where

Start Year
2018

Policy Context

Policy Stage
Not applicable
Context of activity
Part of a policy development process (initiated by a DG or EP)
Science or Policy Field
Digital Economy
Finance
Society
Other
Specific Topic
Taxation. The aim of the events was to raise awareness at national/local level of the EU agenda for fair taxation and to encourage national dialogue on this issue.

Participants

Participants
350
Who was involved
Citizens
Citizen Representatives (e.g. NGOs)
Field Experts
Other
Other participants
Businesses
Business representatives
National authorities
Communities or representatives involved
The events were open to civil society organisations, policy-makers, politicians, academics, business representatives and others. The audience was then encouraged to participate through an interactive exercise and break-out discussions groups.
How were the Participants selected?
Volunteered through an open call
Selected with specific criteria through a contracted agency/organisation
Through what means citizens knew about the call for participation?
Website of the event, DG TAXUD newsletter and Twitter communication campaign targeted at potential interested people.

Methodologies

Events
5
Methodologies used
Other
Methodology description
We were not applying a strict methodology as we wanted the debates to be as open as possible, given the mix of participants and their very different levels of knowledge of the topic.
Tools Used
None
Spaces Used
City/Cities
Other
Hotels
Conference centers

Impact

Output
Media product
Policy recommendations
Report
Other
2min video after each event, with participants answering 3 main questions
Brochures
Main Outcomes and Lasting Achievement
The videos produced after each event as well as different outputs can be found here:
https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/fair-taxation-seminars-2018-en
How were the outcome taken up within the process they were carried out?
We have drafted a public document, summarising the positions of stakeholders as well as an internal report with lessons learned.
Feedback provided
Other
Other Feedback
We published the document on the website. We did not send them an email back (GDPR constraints).
Were the methodologies used elsewhere?
Don't know.

Assessment

Main Challenges
Difficulties in selecting the appropriate participants
Time constraints
Other
Other challenges
Difficult to find the middle ground
Reason for such challenges and solutions
We used simple exercises with the audience in order to get them to interact (eg. they had to vote using colour cards) and then asked experts to comment on the choices made.Two panels of high-level local stakeholders were asked to address separate questions. The audience was then encouraged to participate through an interactive exercise and break-out discussion groups. Although the basic topic was the same in all Member States, there was interesting variation in the discussions depending on the national focus and interest. The contractors provided a moderator to guide and animate the debates. The events ended with a networking lunch for all participants.
Lessons Learn
1. Be flexible and don't think you know what people will say.
2. Interact with the audience and get them involved.
3. Start with the basics and avoid experts only panels.
Recommendation
1. Do them as far away from Brussels as possible.
2. Do them in the local language.
3. Be flexible on the registration and don't select the audience too much.