“The door to knock on for
questions about public
participation in sustainable transitions”

The Public Participation Center offers a platform for citizens, governments, businesses and organisations, fellow researchers, and everyone else interested in public participation practices.

Acceptability

Empowerment

Democracy

Welcome! - To the Public Participation Center

  • What role can citizens play in decisions about sustainable transitions?
  • How can the public participate in abstract societal topics in a meaningful way?
  • What are the inhibitors and enables of effective public participation?
  • How to facilitate a dialogue between industries, governments, organisations, and citizens about sustainable transitions?

Our society faces multiple challenges, including climate change, migration crisis, and geopolitical conflicts. Effective decision-making is needed to tackle these challenges and enable sustainable transitions. Engaging the public in decision-making could potentially lead to more democratic and better transitions that are supported widely in society. The question is how to effectively engage citizens in decision-making on sustainable transitions.  

Researchers from University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences have established a knowledge center addressing the challenges and opportunities of public participation. By combining the strengths of every faculty and every discipline, the Public Participation Center wishes to advance the study of public participation and to apply knowledge in practice to foster sustainable transitions.’

Experts

The Public Participation Center brings together experts from different disciplines. Each one of them has their own focus which helps to strengthen and diversify the scientific community. Get to know the members of the Participation Center!

Events

To inspire others and to share new knowledge, research, and innovations we host various events. You will find the events on this page.

Become a member of the Public Participation Center!

The Public Participation Center is always looking for new input and inspiration! Are you working or otherwise actively engaged with public participation in sustainable transitions? Are you interested in developing or applying state-of-the-art knowledge on public participation, citizen and stakeholder engagement? Then sign up below, and we will contact you about becoming a member of the Public Participation Center!

 

Latest news

News
30 May 2023

Public Participation Center takes off with symposium and website

On May 30, 2023 the Wubbo Ockels School and the Public Participation Center , in collaboration with New Energy Coalition organised the symposium ‘Citizen Assemblies’ in the House of Connections.
News
12 June 2023

Community Events in Groningen about CCUS

What do communities think about Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)? How can their perceptions be included in policy around CCUS? How does Groningen differ from other European locations when it comes to underground storage or conversion of CO2?
News
27 June 2023

Making Groningen CO2 neutral in 2030

Making Groningen CO2 neutral in 2030 is a major challenge that can only be fulfilled by working together. The Wubbo Ockels School, the Municipality, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Alfa College, and Noorderpoort College are collaborating on this issue.
News
11 September 2023

Time to talk about values, time to say no

Of het nu gaat om zonnepanelen van windturbines, een forum in gemeentehuisstijl over voorgestelde groene energieplannen waar de lokale bevolking haar zegje kan doen, lijkt de ideale instelling om het NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) te bestrijden. Maar is dat zo?
Blog
30 October 2023

De mening over het proces van de Inwonerraad Energie en zijn adviezen

Goda Perlaviciute en Wytse Gorter hebben een rapport geschreven over de Inwonerraad Energie in Nederland. Specifiek over hoe deelnemers van de Inwonerraad, en ook buitenstaanders, denken over het proces van de Inwonerraad en de output in de vorm van adviezen.
News
27 November 2023

How do we keep Big Tech in check? Digital Participation Symposium

The second Digital Participation Symposium took place at the House of Connections on 27 November. In break-out sessions, participants explored possible solutions, with an early consensus about a crucial need to prioritize ‘the middle’ and stricter regulations.
News
13 February 2024

Marc Esteve Del Valle appointed as Climate Pact Ambassador

Marc Esteve Del Valle appointed as Climate Pact Ambassador by the European Commission (DG Clima). As ambassador of the Climate Pact, Marc plans to counter climate disinformation by increasing the public’s social media literacy.
News
15 March 2024

Call for papers | Sustainability Science – Springer

A new call for papers is open on the topic “Sufficiency”. Specifically “At the intersections of influence: exploring the structure–agency nexus across sufficiency goals and time frames”. Deadline for abstract submission 15 March 2024!
News
27 May 2024

What law does not understand about public participation

In this newly published paper from Dokubo, Radulescu & Squintani, the researchers delve into the vital role of public participation in the development and implementation of energy projects and climate policies.
News
14 June 2024

Symposium on Inclusion in Participation

We would like to invite you to our third symposium about inclusion in citizen participation. We will first listen to three presenters, among which is the Green Mayor of Groningen, Peter Bootsma

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