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First, this WP aims to take stock of studies evidencing that democratic innovations likely substantiate the objective of fostering political trust and reenchanting democracy. Research effort under this WP will thus summarize all project scientific findings on trust, trust-building and the role of political trust for the support of democracy. Second, this WP aims to transform and translate this scientific knowledge into a set of knowledge-based policy actions, methodologies and tools summarized under the concept of “democratic innovations” to enhance political trust and support for democracy and organized in a freely accessible comprehensive catalogue.
WP Leader: Dr. Frederic Gonthier, Sciences Po, France.
WORK PLAN AND DELIVERABLES
Task 9.1. Outlining the methodological framework for a system of democratic innovations.
The report explores how democratic innovations, such as deliberative mini-publics and direct democracy mechanisms, can rebuild political trust in European democracies. These innovations aim to deepen citizen engagement in decision-making, addressing declining trust in traditional representative institutions. Political trust, a cornerstone of democratic governance, has eroded significantly across Europe, correlating with reduced political participation, heightened polarization, and support for populist movements. Democratic innovations serve as mechanisms for fostering trust by enhancing political efficacy—citizens’ belief in their ability to influence governance. At the individual level, participation in these processes often increases knowledge, satisfaction with democracy, and trust in institutions. Deliberative mechanisms promote informed dialogue and collective decision-making, while direct democracy tools, like referendums, empower citizens to directly influence policies. However, their impact on trust varies based on design, context, and participant expectations. Empirical evidence highlights both opportunities and challenges. Successful innovations rely on transparent processes, fair procedures, and meaningful integration into policymaking. Yet, they often attract politically active, already-trusting individuals, limiting their capacity to engage marginalized groups. Additionally, lack of consequential outcomes and perceived manipulation by political elites can undermine trust. The report concludes that while democratic innovations hold promise for renewing trust and legitimacy, they are no panacea. Their effectiveness depends on careful design, broader public awareness, and institutional commitment to implementing outcomes. Further research is needed to explore their long-term impact and potential to bridge socio-political divides in polarized democracies.
Task 9.2. Knowledge-based policy actions and democratic innovations.
Upon setting up the methodological frame, the project team will proceed to derive concrete policy proposals and elaborate a comprehensive catalogue of policy actions and democratic innovations that can be applied to enhance political trust and support for democracy (D9.2). The catalogue will be structured by the type of action and the period of implementation (effects observed in short-, mid-, long-term perspective). For each of the proposed tools it will include (1) a general description of the policy action and the mechanism behind it; (2) specific conditions of social, political, economic, cultural environment that are likely to make implementation of the description action more or less successful; (3) examples of countries where this policy tool was tested / implemented. The catalogue will provide a comprehensive survey of policy tools to enhance political trust and support for democracy and will summarize the conditions and resources necessary for their successful implementation. The catalogue will be translated into all project and main European languages and will be made available electronically in free access.
Task 9.3. Audience-targeted reports and recommendations to identify democratic innovations likely to generate political trust and develop scale-specific strategies to promote them.
Finally, the project team will supplement the communication of main quantitative and qualitative findings (i.e., WP1 and WP8) with target-specific reports and recommendations for communicative strategies building on democratic innovations. Targeted audiences are policy- and decision-makers, as well as public stakeholders at the local, regional, national and European level in all participating countries. Activities will revolve around identifying target-related specific interests in democratic innovations and their direct or indirect capacities to affect political (dis)trust. Accordingly, WP9 will produce evidence-informed recommendations and framing strategies to help these audiences promote democratic innovations while benefiting from substantial gains in political trust.
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