Research-Action Project

A New Communication Pact Between Governance and Citizens

Territories, Citizenship and Governance: Shaping the Future

Research-Action Project
A New Communication Pact Between Governance and Citizens
Territories, Citizenship and Governance: Shaping the Future

The sAu Research Center is developing a project focused on participatory democracy practices and communication models that can strengthen relationships between institutions, territories and communities.

The research builds on the experience of Viareggio Futura, the most recent of the projects carried out by the Center in over thirty years of activity. It explores how public administrations, organizations and citizens can establish ongoing processes of listening, dialogue and collaborative planning.

The aim is to transform participation from an occasional event into an everyday practice, embedded in governance processes and the life of local communities. Particular attention is given to experiences that enable different stakeholders to play an active role in identifying problems, bringing needs to light and developing possible solutions, while valuing human relationships, collective expertise and the knowledge developed within communities.

Purpose and objectives   |   Activities  |   Communities involved    |    Quaderni di sAu   |   Reccomaned readings  |   Territorial Planning Center InComuneLab

The Purpose
 

The research aims to understand the communicative, organizational and cultural conditions that enable effective, informed and sustained participation.

The analysis focuses not only on the tools and methods adopted, but above all on the quality of the relationships established between institutions, citizens, associations, businesses, intermediary organizations and other local stakeholders.

The project collects, compares and highlights significant experiences of participatory democracy, with the aim of identifying methodologies, practices and tools that can strengthen trust, foster collaboration and enhance communities’ capacity to actively shape their own future.

 

The main areas of investigation include:

  • The role of communication in processes of listening, engagement, feedback and co-design;

  • The ways in which local needs, experiences and knowledge can be transformed into resources for cooperative planning;

  • The relationship between governance, citizens and intermediary organizations;

  • The development of territorial alliances and innovative forms of civic governance;

  • The capacity of participatory practices to generate concrete and lasting outcomes;

  • The role of advanced technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), in participatory processes, while keeping the value of human relationships at the center.

 
The Objectives

The project aims to:

  • Collect testimonies and case studies through interviews with key figures involved in significant experiences of participatory democracy;

  • Foster dialogue among public administrations, researchers, organizations and communities through an international conference in Florence, organized in collaboration with the Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Florence;

  • Publish a volume dedicated to the practices examined and develop an open digital environment providing access to documentation, research findings, tools and experiences;

  • Encourage exchange and cross-fertilization among different territories, connecting stakeholders engaged in developing new forms of participation;

  • Develop, through InComuneLab, methodologies and tools to support public administrations and organizations interested in initiating participatory research and collaborative planning processes.

Building Trust Remains a Human Process

One of the key areas of research focuses, on the one hand, on analyzing the most innovative platforms for public participation and, on the other, on understanding how these tools can be integrated into processes that prioritize human relationships and the building of trust.

Technology can facilitate listening, expand opportunities for dialogue, make information more accessible and engage wider audiences. However, it cannot replace the relational dimension from which mutual recognition, shared responsibility and a sense of belonging to a community emerge.

The research therefore explores how digital tools and Artificial Intelligence (AI) can support the connections between citizens, organizations and institutions without weakening them. Innovation creates value when it strengthens people’s ability to come together, understand one another and collaborate in shaping the common good.

How can communication strengthen participatory democracy and shape the future of governance? Drawing on European experiences and the Viareggio Futura project, this article explores emerging practices of civic participation and collaborative governance.

Read more on Quaderni di sAu

Main project activities
A Series of Interviews Published in Quaderni di sAu

How can a lasting relationship between governance and citizens be built? Which practices can transform participation from an occasional event into an everyday experience? And what role can communication play in collaboratively shaping the future of territories?

A series of interviews will be published in Quaderni di sAu, featuring public administrators, researchers, professionals and key figures involved in significant experiences of participatory democracy. Their contributions will provide an opportunity to compare models, tools and practices developed in local, national and international contexts.

sAu Conversation will be held in Florence in 2027

The research will be accompanied by a Public Conversation organized in Florence in collaboration with the Department of Legal Sciences of the University of Florence.

The event will bring together public administrations, researchers, organizations and communities engaged in developing participatory democracy practices. The discussion will focus on the role of communication in processes of listening, engagement, feedback and collaborative planning, with the aim of building a new communication pact between governance and citizens.

The event will also provide an opportunity to connect different experiences and lay the foundations for new territorial collaborations.

Coming soon

The Book and the online system

A volume dedicated to emerging forms of relationships between governance, citizens and territories will be published as part of the sAu Community editorial series.

The publication will bring together the experiences examined throughout the research, exploring the role of listening, communication and co-design in establishing ongoing participatory processes. Case studies, testimonies and research findings will help identify methodologies that can strengthen trust, foster territorial alliances and transform local needs and collective knowledge into initiatives aimed at the common good.

The volume will be accompanied by an online environment designed to provide access to documentation, resources and tools, while encouraging exchange and cross-fertilization among different territories.

Coming soon

The communities involved in this project
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Research group

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icona CTS

Scientific and Technical Committee

 

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Interviewed Experiences

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Scientific and Technical Committee

prof. Giovanni Tarli Barbieri

Full Professor of Constitutional and Public Law,  Department of Legal Sciences – University of Florence

prof.ssa Paola Lucarelli

Full Professor of Commercial Law
Department of Legal Sciences, University of Florence
Teaches Commercial Law and Conflict Mediation.

prof.ssa Alessandra Petrucci

Rector of the University of Florence
Full Professor of Social Statistics

prof. Andrea Simoncini

Andrea Simoncini
Full Professor of Constitutional Law
Department of Legal Sciences, University of Florence.

prof.ssa Irene Stolzi

Director of the Department of Legal Sciences
Full Professor of Legal History, University of Florence

prof. Luca Toschi

Founder and Director of the sAu Research Center
Director of the Generative Communication Lab, PIN Foundation, University of Florence.

Research Group

foto profilo toschi

Luca Toschi

Alessandra Anichini

viola

Viola Davini

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Marta Guarducci
marco

Marco Sbardella

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Amos Tozzini
Matilde Mariella Agostini

Matilde Mariella Agostini

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Publications from the sAu Research Center's Journal

Read the firsthand accounts we are collecting in preparation for the conference.

From Participation to Public Decision-Making: Amsterdam’s Approach to Citizen Engagement. Key Insights from an Interview with Simone de Jonge, Participation Advisor in the Municipal Participation Team at the City of Amsterdam

by Viola Davini and Matilde Mariella Agostini

The interview with Simone de Jonge, Participation Advisor at the City of Amsterdam, explores the policies and practices adopted by the city to integrate citizen participation into public decision-making. Particular attention is given to transparency, inclusion, the integration of digital tools and face-to-face engagement, and the role of local networks in strengthening dialogue between institutions and communities.

Read the article

Building Democracy Through Technology: How Decidim Is Reinventing Citizen Participation in an Interview with Elsa Boloix, Communications Manager at Decidim

by Viola Davini

The interview with Elsa Boloix, Communications Manager at Decidim, explores the history and functioning of the open-source platform developed in Barcelona to foster citizen participation, and how it has become an international reference point for participatory democracy. It examines how technology, participatory governance and collaboration can help build new relationships between institutions and communities.
Read the article (ITA version)
Participation Begins with Proximity: The Model of the Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi in Bologna. Key Insights from an Interview with Elisabetta Caruso.

by Viola Davini

In this interview with Elisabetta Caruso from the Fondazione IU Rusconi Ghigi in Bologna, we explore the value of proximity as an approach to building relationships of trust among citizens, institutions and territories. From Neighborhood Labs and Participatory Budgeting to the Citizens’ Climate Assembly, this experience demonstrates how local engagement, digital tools and civic networks can work together to make participation more inclusive.

Read the article (ITA versione)

Milano Partecipa: When Participation Becomes a Tool for City Governance

by Viola Davini

In this interview with the Milano Partecipa team, we explore the experience of the City of Milan: a digital platform based on Decidim, but above all a model that combines online tools, face-to-face meetings and deliberative processes. From engaging city users to organizing civic assemblies and developing strategies to involve young people and communities with migrant backgrounds, the initiative seeks to make participation more accessible, inclusive and influential in shaping public policies.

Read the article (ITA versione)

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Recommended Readings

Below is a selection of resources we are collecting to document experiences, tools and practices of participatory democracy developed by institutions, research organizations, public administrations and other organizations.

The InComuneLab Territorial Planning Center is a continuously evolving collection of resources. If you would like to suggest projects, publications, case studies or other relevant materials, please get in touch and help enrich this shared body of knowledge.

Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/2836
The European Commission Recommendation promotes the effective participation of citizens and civil society organizations in public policymaking, setting out principles and guidelines to strengthen democratic participation at local, regional and national levels. 

Find out more

Osservatorio Partecipazione Emilia-Romagna (OPER)

The Observatory established by the Emilia-Romagna Region monitors, documents and analyzes participatory and deliberative democracy processes, providing a database of implemented initiatives and additional resources for public administrations, researchers and citizens.
Find out more

Hub della Partecipazione – ParteciPa

The national platform dedicated to public participation policies connects public administrations, organizations and communities to share practices, tools and experiences of citizen engagement.
Find out more
InComuneLab Territorial Planning Center

Have you implemented, or are you currently developing, an initiative in participatory democracy, collaborative governance or participatory research?

Do you represent a municipality, local authority, association, business, university or organization working to strengthen dialogue between institutions and communities?

Share your experience with us through InComuneLab!

InComuneLab, the Territorial Planning Center of the sAu Research Center, was established to document, analyze and highlight experiences, tools and methodologies that promote new forms of relationships between governance and citizens, based on listening, participation and collaboratively shaping the future.

The experiences collected will contribute to enriching a shared body of knowledge, case studies and good practices, fostering dialogue among different territories and the dissemination of innovative models of participation.