| abstract: |
The EGD transition pathway is a major challenge for Europe, whose targets were elevated following the pandemic outbreak. Its ambitions require joint efforts to harmonise diverse contexts and visions of humans/nature?s relation. Citizens? engagement, as envisioned in the EU Democracy Action Plan, is a pre-condition for institutional policies and projects? success, as behavioural changes and transformations in large populations? lifestyles and expectations are vital for the EGD?s implementation. PHOENIX, anchored to the pictographic idea of a collective resurrection (stronger and more resilient) from the ashes of a shared tragedy, connects a multidisciplinary group of 15 partners from the different macro-regions of Europe. It builds on a rich, consolidated tradition of participatory processes and refined deliberative methodologies successfully experimented in different policy-making domains, considering they are necessary tools, but not sufficient ones, when it comes to facing the ambitious goals related to ecological transition patterns. Elaborating on their lesson learned, PHOENIX designs an iterative process to increase the transformative potential of Democratic Innovations to address specific topics of the EGD. Through a portfolio of sound methodologies and tools, we will enrich them, augmenting their quality of deliberation and the capacity to foster the readiness to change and the commitment of different actors. PHOENIX tailors and tests Enriched Democratic Innovations (EDIs) in 11 pilots in 7 countries, monitoring and carefully assessing the systemic approach?s capacity elaborated to adapt to a diverse range of socio-cultural and environmental contexts, and different administrative levels. Finally, it supports the mainstreaming, scalability and adaptability of the methodologies tested and assessed in the pilots, leveraging an inter-pilot dialogue grounded on evidence-based results, and building collectively a series of Policy Recommendations |
