Resource Center

The knowledge base provides definitions, guides, research findings, videos, and other resources about a range of participatory and deliberative processes.

An article emphasizing the importance of carefully selecting and agreeing on the appropriate terms and language with participants in citizen science.

A toolkit providing an overview of citizen engagement styles and strategies, drawing from case studies on citizen participation initiatives in the Americas and the Caribbean.

This toolkit, in Bulgarian, provides step-by-step guidance to lead a participation process at school.

A report discussing elements and guiding principles of citizen participation and how it can be embedded into decision-making.

A report discussing insights from processes run in Sweden and around the world, to offer practical guidance on the design and planning of participatory budgeting.

A research paper detailing the results of an extensive review of the literature and case studies of participation budgeting over 30 years, with particular focus on Kenya and Mexico.

A book on participatory budgeting that explores its origins and theory of change, and defines the different types of program methodologies and how they work.

A guide presenting a flexible approach to engage people in addressing public challenges in urban settings.

A handbook on the open government process, in line with Open Government Partnership (OGP) standards.

A toolkit providing best practices and guidance on citizen sensing, a participatory approach to data collection and community-led action.

An academic article on the institutionalization of citizens' assemblies in Ireland, considering whether the “Irish model” can be successfully replicated in other countries.

A curated list of online tools that can be used at various stages of the policymaking cycle.

A short guide on designing and launching a communications campaign.

A video and report on the process and proposals from Poland's citizens' assembly on energy costs, organized by the Shipyard Foundation, which took place between September and December 2022.

This report presents case studies of citizen participation across 10 Swedish municipalities and provides a model for designing citizen participation for social change, primarily at the local and regional government level.

A report on a series of deliberative minipublics run by the Decidania program in Brazil.

An overview of 6 major types of cognitive biases that tend to arise when groups of people work together.

Useful tools for workshops and activities at every stage of planning, designing and facilitating a community-led placemaking process with citizens.

An academic article discussing democratic models and reforms in China, drawing on the participatory budgeting reforms in Wenling as a case study.

This guide introduces youth participatory budgeting, detailing the stages of design and implementation and the conditions necessary for a successful process.

A toolkit to promote public innovation in policy administration, with a focus on citizen-centered design.

An academic article using the case study of participatory budgeting reforms in Wenling, China to discuss the reality and limitations of democratic reform in an authoritarian regime.

A booklet containing information about school governments in Bogota, Colombia.

A study of the traits and attitudes of over 22,000 internet voters from Rio Grande do Sul during a referendum on state-level spending priorities.

A handbook with practical tools and techniques for participatory processes, primarily aimed at activists and social movements or collectives.

A short video that explains how participatory budgeting works.

A short handbook on designing and managing municipal-level participatory budgeting (PB).

A short handbook on designing websites for citizens' assemblies.

An article discussing the pilot participatory budgeting program launched by the government of Meilan District in Haikou City between 2016 and 2017.