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.

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
16 June 2026

Noordelijke Leergemeenschap Participatie ‘&SamenSpel’ van start

De kick-off van de Noordelijke Leergemeenschap Participatie ‘&SamenSpel vond plaats op 8 april 2026. Een regionaal samenwerkingsverband dat zich richt op het verbeteren van burgerparticipatie bij grote maatschappelijke opgaven, zoals de energietransitie.
News
11 March 2026

Entrance Research Award – Call for Papers

We encourage researchers and students from Universities and Universities of Applied Science working around energy transition orthemes related to sustainable mobility to submit an abstract.
News
19 January 2026

Zin voor Duurzaam in de Gemeente Groningen

Op 25 november 2025 vond in Groningen het eerste ‘Zin voor Duurzaam’ Symposium plaats, georganiseerd door de stichting Solidair Groningen & Drenthe, het Platform Religie en Levensbeschouwing Groningen, de provincie Groningen en de vereniging Noorden Duurzaam.

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