Description
Citizen engagement refers to the process of engaging ordinary citizens in defining together their matters of concerns and how to address them. Citizen engagement is thus a crucial task for socially robust, fit-for-purpose and inclusive policymaking. This training covers rationales for citizen engagement, principles of good practice, as well as tools for running citizen engagement activities. The course includes a focus on deliberation and co-creation practices, illustrating different methods with case studies, and guidance on how to plan citizen engagement activities specifically at the design stage of policymaking. The training also offers networking and peer-to-peer discussion, together with practical exercises and hands-on group work on cases of interest to the participants.
The course is free, open to everyone, and will be held online. It will happen on two separate days: 17 March, 2026 from 10.00 to 17.00 CET, and 19 March from 10.00 to 13.00 CET. Please find the complete draft agenda below. It is recommended that participants attend both days.
Registration will open on 17 February at 09.00 CET on a first-come, first served basis on this link.
Programme
The training consists of four modules:
Module 1: Rationales of citizen engagement across public policy settings
This module will explore the reasons for involving citizens in the co-production of knowledge and decision making, contributions citizen can bring into these processes and what kinds of problems call for the involvement of citizens. It will also make reference to the main policies which ground the invited forms of citizen engagement at EU level.
Module 2: Planning citizen engagement
This module will present in a systematic way all the stages of planning the citizen engagement process, from the moment of its commissioning to the follow-up.
Module 3: Approaches and methods with case study examples
This module focuses on the different deliberative and co-creation methods, including citizen assemblies and juries, co-design and material deliberation. To illustrate how the methods work in real life setting a case study will be discussed.
Module 4: Hands-on case work
This part of the training consists of a practical exercise, in which participants will be invited to work on applied cases in small groups. Participants will specify different aspects of the planned participatory process, including issue definition and guiding questions, rationale for involving citizens, knowledge required, recruitment approach, methods and follow-up. The module structure will mirror that of Module 2.
Location
Resources
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Agenda_citizen engagement training March 2026.pdf | 409.22 KB |