DEMO-net is a proposal by leading European researchers to organise and develop a network of excellence in the strategic field of eParticipation. The project is designed to help secure the future of democracy and the participation of citizens in decision-making processes within public administrations and public-oriented agencies, and to address the various needs for eParticipation and eGovernance in the different territories.
Across Europe there is a widespread sense that the public has disengaged from formal political processes, such as voting, joining parties and following political news; and this disengagement reflects a crisis of public trust in governments at all levels in Europe.
DEMO-net is a proposal by leading European researchers to organise and develop a network of excellence in the strategic field of eParticipation. This eParticipation Network is designed to help secure the future of democracy and the participation of citizens in decision-making processes in all levels of public administration, and to address the various needs for eParticipation and eGovernance in the different territories.
The overarching objective of DEMO-net is to strengthen scientific, technological and social research excellence in eParticipation by integrating the research capacities of individuals and organisations spread across Europe. The intention is to advance the way research is carried out in Europe with respect to quality, efficiency, innovation and impact to overcome the currently fragmented approach to eParticipation in this important European research area. The network with this overall objective will provide a major contribution to the strategic goals set by the European Council.
Therefore the four high level objectives of DEMO-net are:
1. To achieve a lasting integration of currently fragmented research in eParticipation
2. To stimulate joint research in DEMO-net's agreed research areas
3. To disseminate DEMO-net research amongst eParticipation stakeholders
4. To provide a barometer of research effectiveness for eParticipation in Europe by establishing a corpus of lessons-learnt resource to show what kind of projects have delivered what kind of results and thereby considered effective for eParticipation.
In order to reach this objective, DEMO-net will:
1. Co-ordinate and integrate the members’ research activities clustered around the research and technological objectives (Joint research activities) as described below.
2. Achieve close and sustained co-operation between government and academia, in order to improve the quality of research and understanding on both sides.
3. Assess and compare research already made on eParticipation in cities, regions and countries across Europe and worldwide.
4. Provide the necessary technological infrastructure to facilitate discussion, co-operation and data exchange.
5. Ensure growth and sustainability of the network by encouraging and motivating organisations and researchers in areas relevant to eParticipation to join in the
activities of DEMO-net.
6. Mobilise relationships among the many stakeholders involved with participation research and also those dependant on the results of that research.
7. Ensure dissemination of research outcomes of DEMO-net to widest possible audience for the benefit of researchers, government and citizens.
DEMO-net’s specific aim is to promote and develop through a focussed and integrated research programme technological and socio-technical excellence in eParticipation tools and methodologies.
DEMO-net will build on the experience accumulated by leading European research organisations that have studied the underlying principles of eParticipation and actively worked with governments across Europe in applying and evaluating eParticipation. To ensure sustainability of the research and dissemination of the results expert practitioners from government agencies will support DEMO-net across Europe.
The time to launch this research framework is right. Europe needs to improve its democratic legitimacy and to build an inclusive knowledge based society. The overall challenge is to improve democratic decision-making in such a manner that enables citizens and governments to engage collaboratively with one another to deliver evidence-based policy. Greater interactivity in the democratic process needs to be addressed for more innovative and public administrations at all levels.
DEMO-net recognises the multi-disciplinary skills that are needed to achieve this. It aims to develop overall technological and socio-technical excellence in eParticipation tools and methods to enable Europe to maintain world recognition in this citizen centric domain, enabling better engagement with citizens across Europe. The multi-disciplinary approach is a key aspect of DEMO-net which seeks to integrate research activities which have been until now independent and fragmented.
The DEMO-net network include the following partners: