Making a difference to policy, institutions and society

Citizen engagement processes can be transformative, especially for participating citizens. But what is their impact on policymaking, democratic systems and the broader public? This report maps a range of impacts across policy, institutions and society. Qualitative interview and survey data reveal that public administrations that engaged in citizen participation saw significant benefits, including improved policymaking, stronger democracies, greater legitimacy and increased trust in government, so much so that they are ready to conduct other participatory exercises. The study suggests and illustrates a number of indirect impact pathways, indicating that the extent of policy impact may be underestimated. Furthermore, citizen engagement drives culture change within institutions and enhances their capacity to engage more directly with citizens. Looking through a relational lens, citizen engagement processes foster closer connections between citizens and policymaking, but also between stakeholders, civil society, citizens, policymakers, and others. Key factors include the commitment of institutions and policymakers, and public communication about citizen engagement processes. Overall, the key message is that desired impact should be the starting point of citizen engagement processes, not an afterthought – support may erode if citizens and policymakers cannot see tangible outcomes. Commissioning bodies and organisers should prioritise commitment, legitimacy, and integration to ensure meaningful impacts.

DUNLOP Tessa;  KOZAREV Ventseslav;  GUIMARAES PEREIRA Ângela;  ROSA Paulo; 

2026-06-22

Publications Office of the European Union

JRC145690

978-92-68-38886-0 (online),    978-92-68-38887-7 (print),   

1831-9424 (online),    1018-5593 (print),   

EUR 40681,    EUR 40681 (print),    OP KJ-01-26-149-EN-N (online),    OP KJ-01-26-149-EN-C (print),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC145690,   

10.2760/3912442 (online),    10.2760/8897489 (print),