Connecting people and practice to strengthen deliberation
FIDE was founded with a simple idea: no single actor can carry the work of democratic renewal alone. Building deliberative institutions and norms requires a community of practitioners, policymakers, and institutions that learn and work together.
Our mission is to elevate the field by providing the conditions for collaboration and alignment. A common space where trust is built, resources are shared, and collective standards take shape.
Our Goals
Our field-building initiatives
Annual Meetings
A meeting point for policymakers and practitioners.
We raise the visibility of deliberation in EU debates. We create opportunities for policymakers and public affairs actors to engage with credible practice. And we offer a trusted space for practitioners to exchange lessons, align approaches, and explore new challenges.
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Democracy at a Crossroads, Democracy R&D
2025
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From Votes to Voices
2024
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Europe, for a citizens-led policy
2023
Network for Citizen Participation & Deliberation in Europe
A multi-level coalition of representatives from European national, regional and city-level institutions with regular or embedded deliberative practices.
Co-founded by Bertelsmann Stiftung and FIDE.
Guidelines on Structuring Participation
Offers clear steps for defining the mandate, aligning with policy cycles, ensuring administrative ownership, and integrating citizens’ recommendations into policymaking.
Online Launch Event
Friday, 12 December (10:00 CET)
What the network aims to achieve
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Members jointly develop and promote shared quality standards for citizen participation and deliberation.
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The network helps institutions further embed participation into regular policymaking by providing guidance, peer exchange, and concrete examples from cities, regions, and EU-level processes.
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Through workshops and regular meetings, members exchange experience on design choices, administrative integration, recruitment, follow-up, and impact assessment. This supports better implementation and builds long-term institutional capacity across governance levels.
Meetings