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Which participatory methods are used in the Nordics, and for what purpose?

We are SoCentral (Norway), Sitra (Finland) and We Do Democracy (Denmark). Together we are mapping the participatory methods, digital platforms and institutional mechanisms outside of elections used across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland.

Your answers will be compiled in a report to the Nordic Council of Ministers that will be published in the spring of 2027. The report compares what different approaches are meant to achieve, for whom and under what conditions, and gives recommendations for strengthening participation across the Nordics.

You are welcome to answer in your first language. Write your answers in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Greenlandic, Faroese, English or any language you prefer.
Do you work with more than one? Submit the survey separately for each, starting with the most important.

Participation agreement

What is the name of the participatory method your organisation works with?

The name you use for it locally. Answer the rest of the survey with this one in mind.

Briefly describe your approach and its purpose

Who is the core target group?

Select up to two

If it involves young people, what makes it work for them? If it does not, how could it be adapted to their needs?

How many participants is it best suited for?

Could it be used in other Nordic countries?

Describe in more detail where your approach the method is used, and at what level

Specify where it is used by your organisation, or if you know where others are using it.

A. Country or region

B. Level

What type of participation does the approach facilitate?

Choose one category that describes it best. You may find that it fits in more than one category but pick the closest. Click a category name to see a broader definition.
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What do participants normally do?

Select all that apply. Focus on the activities participants themselves undertake, not on tasks performed by organisers.

How can the approach strengthen democracy?

Now we ask you to assess how the participatory method that you are working with strengthens democracy by using the Democratic Impact framework which includes ten dimensions. Select up to three first intended impacts that are core qualities of the approach, and up to three second intended impacts that it can credibly produce, depending on the quality of the implementation.

First
Second
Competencies
Strengthening participants' knowledge, self-confidence, perspective-taking, and ability or willingness to participate in democracy
Attitude
Making viewpoints visible or helping people clarify, reflect on or develop their views
Trust and confidence
Building trust among participants, in other citizens, in decision-makers or in democratic institutions
Participation
Enabling people to become actively involved and make a contribution
Deliberation
Supporting informed, reflective and reciprocal consideration of evidence, experiences and different perspectives
Representation
Including relevant populations, social groups, experiences, interests and forms of knowledge
Community
Strengthening relationships, belonging, cohesion or capacity for collective action
Influence
Affecting public discussion, political agendas, policy preparation, decisions or implementation
Tracks in the community
Creating wider or longer-term effects, such as adoption in new contexts, changes in public language, or diffusion of practices and ideas
Organisational resources
Strengthening organisations' skills, capacity, ownership and ability to organise and sustain democratic participation

What are the key factors that should be in place for the approach to achieve the intended democratic impacts?

Select up to five factors that are particularly important for this approach, rather than factors that are desirable in every participation process.

Please briefly explain your choices in the previous questions

How does the approach create its primary intended impacts, and why are the success factors you chose especially important?

How do you currently assess the intended democratic impacts, when you use the approach?

Select all that apply

Which groups of citizens, or which democratic challenges, do we not manage to adequately address through the methods that are already in wide use in the Nordics?

Think broadly, beyond your own method

About your organisation

We use the organisation name to count organisations, and your email only to follow up

A. Type of organisation

B. Organisations name

C. Contact email

Untitled checkboxes field

Where did you hear about this survey

Select all that apply