Define Framework for Citizen Participant Status (FR0114)

What is the issue that the commitment will address?

At present, some citizens cannot volunteer for participatory or deliberative initiatives because of their work, financial or family commitments. Getting involved in a long-term activity of this kind often requires balancing commitments and volunteers need permission from their employer. As a result, all citizens cannot meaningfully participate in developing public policy and some socio-economic categories are under-represented in citizen participation, e.g. vulnerable people, single-parent families and shift workers.

What is the commitment?

Title: Define a framework for a “participant citizen” status

Description: A framework will be defined for citizens participating in long-term deliberative practices which could become an actual status. This could include the following: • Payment for citizen participants • Employers being unable to reject a staff member’s application for citizen participation • Special leave for citizen participation • Introduction of a skills recognition programme for skills acquired during such initiatives This commitment should allow citizens to meaningfully contribute to participatory actions and serve the public interest in a way that is fair for everyone.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?

This commitment will give legitimacy to participatory practices and government decisionmaking as a result, improving representativeness and including all categories of citizens. It therefore aims to contribute to the credibility of participatory and deliberative initiatives.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values?

This commitment aims to allow everyone to participate in democracy, regardless of their income level. It upholds the principle of fairness by giving all citizens a chance to contribute to public policy design. It is consistent with Priority 2 to improve inclusion and citizen engagement.

What are the expected impacts?

Introducing a “participant citizen” status would be a major step forward in allowing all categories of citizens to participate in government action. It would also make a big social impact because it has never been available in a form other than one-off payments for some consultation exercises (compensation for participants, etc.). In the short term, the status will make it easier for citizens to participate in citizen initiatives and public policy co-creation processes, especially the most time-intensive practices, which are always at risk of attracting few participants or participants who are not representative of all the different socio-economic categories. In the medium term, the status will help to send a strong message to citizens and economic actors about how important it is to engage in these initiatives and provide recognition for citizen engagement, in particular by counting participation as employment experience. Regularly involving citizens from all backgrounds also builds trust in institutions and government decision-making.

Milestones

• By end-2024: Share a proposed framework for a citizen participant status