Encourage citizen participation through online platform (ES0054)

What is the problem/need that is desired to resolve with the commitment? Citizen participation should not be an ad hoc process for a certain purpose. To be truly efficient and effective, it should be a structural practise that is present throughout the entire process of formulating public policies. However, without transforming the Public Administration, this change of focus will not take place. In this context of necessary transformation, the concept of "ecosystems of citizen participation" acquires special importance. By "ecosystems of citizen participation", we are referring to the creation of the necessary structures that allow horizontal and vertical coordination of all levels of the public administration and the establishment of methodologies, training, instruments and common technologies that contribute to a common governance of the ecosystem. If they are well‐established, the creation of these ecosystems can transform the administration and help the participation be a cross‐cutting element in all levels of the public system. It is about transforming the Administration through participation and transforming the Administration to make participation possible. • To foster and promote the creation and deployment of citizen participation infrastructures of all kinds ‐ methodology, training, technology, networks... ‐ which are freely accessible to the entire ecosystem of Catalan participation. • To provide to the inter‐departmental commissions with resources so that they have format participants or insiders of the open government principles. • Incorporate the management of knowledge in all tasks of planning, design, development and evaluation in order to guarantee that they are oriented towards achieving the mission of the DGCD. • Map the actors of citizen participation in Catalunya and have stable relations of collaboration both at the strategic and the operating level.

Objectives of the commitment • Help to identify and inform the actors who work in the area of citizen participation in Catalunya, as well as their specialisations and preferred geographic scope of activity. • Contribute to make explicit the tacit knowledge of these actors through the dissemination and open publication of all types of resources and citizen participation instruments, GUIDE and methodologies, procedures and protocols, technology, materials, etc. • Create and dynamise practising communities to share knowledge and identify and promote consensus strategies for the evolution of citizen participation as a discipline. 119 • Be a reference point regarding the activity of the members of the Transparent Government Network, especially regarding training activities, publications, services and other resources related to citizen participation. • Facilitate the adoption on the "Decidimos" platform for the municipal entities of Catalunya, providing them in a centralised manner free of charge. • Create and dynamise learning communities to level and improve knowledge of the network of actors of the scope of citizen participation. • Provide a trial environment for the administrators of the "Decidimos" platforms that allows them to become familiar with the tool, and to carry out the required practises for training programmes. • Disseminate activities regarding citizen participation in Catalunya from a two‐fold approach: geographically and by topic.

Brief description of the commitment ParticipaCatalunya.cat is a virtual meeting space for all actors who work in citizen participation.

How does the commitment contribute to solve the problem or cover the need? ParticipaCatalunya.cat has four components or main spaces: • The practising communities. • The training space, which includes a trial environment of the "Decidimos" platform. • The resource bank. • The offer of and registration in Sessions and events in general. In addition, there are two others at the institutional level. • The management and dissemination space of the Decidim.Catalunya project for providing the platform to the local entities. • The institutional space of the participation group of the Network Transparent Government of Catalonia.

Why is the commitment relevant with respect to the values of Open Government? It promotes, strengthens and improves the quality of participation in the public management, allowing the citizenship to participate in making public decisions with the objective of achieving better results and better democratic quality. It raises awareness among society and civil servants about the values of Open Government, contributing to the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda in order to advance towards a just, peaceful and inclusive society.

Additional information Activities of the commitment Start date End date • Analyse the needs of the target public and conceptualise the space (Product: Information architecture document). • Design and implement the practising communities (Product: practising communities). • Design and implement the training space, which includes a trial environment of the "Decidimos" platform (Product: training space). • Design the resource bank and carry out a preliminary collection of them. (Product: Resource bank). • Organise sessions and events for the sector (four Sessions for the entire sector, eight events of various kinds). • Design the management and dissemination space of the Decidim.Catalunya project for providing the platform to the local entities. (Management and dissemination space of the project). 01/09/2019 15/01/2019 15/10/2020 15/09/2020 01/12/2021 01/01/2020 01/05/2020 31/12/2020 31/12/2020 31/12/2020 30/09/2024 01/04/2021 120 • Pilot Decidim.Catalunya (50 spaces). • Universally launch Decidim.Catalunya (200 spaces). • The institutional space of the participation group of the Governments Network (creation of the institutional space). 01/01/2021 01/01/2021 01/01/2021 15/06/2022 30/09/2024 30/09/2024