Democracy Beyond Elections highlights democratic innovations

The Participatory Budgeting Project has published a new report which explores 'Democracy Beyond Elections'.

The report features case studies of democratic innovations from across Europe and the United States, all of them highlighting how the norms participation and decision making can be challenged in different ways.

The report has examples from Ireland, Scotland, Madrid and New York City, with the development of the Community Empowerment Act featuring in the Scottish example - this encompasses participation requests, asset transfers and participatory budgeting.

"We need to invest in new models of participatory democratic governance to foster meaningful engagement within our communities, develop solutions to public problems, and decide together. A growing movement of political leaders and reformers around the world are already turning to participatory democracy to make government more responsive, transparent, and equitable. It is our hope that through a deep study, consideration, and discussion of leading models of participatory democracy, we can learn together and build more ways to expand democracy beyond elections."

This report has been published following an event held in New York which SCDC contributed to.

You can download the executive summary here, with the full version expected to be published in July.