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- Can democratic innovations tackle social-ecological challenges? Gaining insights on transformative governance across European casesPublication . Ribeiro, J.D.; Moniz, João; Campos, Ines; Falanga, RobertoIn an era of democratic backsliding, the pursuit of sustainable development that addresses social-ecological challenges can become a daunting task. Participatory and deliberative practices have flourished over the last few decades, addressing, to varying extents, policy domains that can be understood within the framework of social-ecological governance and related challenges. By understanding these practices through the concept of democratic innovations (DIs), we critically examine the historical connections between practices implemented across Europe with a focus on social-ecological challenges. This work reveals the emerging potential for democratising policy and decision-making, particularly in the areas of climate action and social justice. Despite the potential of DIs for citizen engagement with social-ecological challenges, theevidence gathered so far indicates that the reproduction of social exclusion within DIs is a significant issue, reflecting barriers rooted in socioeconomic cleavages and the myopia of political elites regarding long-term transformations. The capture and cooptation of DIs by powerful groups often reduces their potential to mere performative exercises that contribute little to creating inclusive settings. Therefore, while acknowledging the significant potential of DIs for social-ecological governance, we argue for the need to investigate the contribution of existing practices within extant democratic systems to realise their transformative potential fully.
- Participatory monitoring and evaluation: a pioneering experience with the national strategy to combat poverty in PortugalPublication . Falanga, Roberto; Silva, Daniel
- Scaling participatory budgets. Pitfalls and potentialities from multiple scales in PortugalPublication . Falanga, RobertoParticipatory budgets have played a key role in the field of demo-cratic innovations. Portugal is considered as a case for holding one of the highest rates of local participatory budgets and pioneered national and regional initiatives. Such a patchwork raises interest in the ways in which Participatory Budgets function on multiple scales. In-depth examination of institutions, constituencies, and policy areas helps unveil evident pitfalls and emerging potentialities. Against pitfalls, this article acknowledges emerging potentialities in establishing agreements between institutions to improve the efficiency of public funding allocation; intermediary bodies to increase inclusion of citizens; and combined policy areas to foster the synergy among Participatory Budgets.
- Sustainability and Cultural HeritagePublication . Falanga, Roberto; Bonoli, AlessandraThe Institute of Social Sciences at the University of Lisbon (ICSUL) is one of the academic partners of the ROCK project. ICSUL’s commitment towards cultural heritage-led regeneration has been developed through the application of an innovative community-based action research with local stakeholders and residents on the eastern side of Lisbon, in a demonstration area across the neighbouroods of Marvila and Beato. Acknowledgung that the optimization of tangible and intangible heritage was based on goals of social inclusion and participation for more effective solutions, we approached the demonstration area by triangulating qualitative and quantitative methods (i.e. participant observation, interviews with key actors, and both intensive and extensive surveys). Data were collected and made available in open access through scientifc and policy publications. The creation of the Lisbon Living Lab in partnership with the Lisbon city council provided needed conditions to promote a wide array of initiatives and to implement three major actions: one Pop-Up based on the reuse of empty stores led by the local NGO Rés do Chão; the co-design of an edible garden named “garden for all” by the local NGOs Muita Fruta and Coletivo Warehouse; and the creation of a new interpretive Centre of Beato and Marvila in the public library, co-led by the city council and ICSUL.
- COVID 19 – Preparar as cidades para riscos globaisPublication . Ferrão, João; Falanga, Roberto; Liz, Carlos
- Comunicação de ciência em Portugal: a perspetiva dos cidadãos. Recomendações para decisores e comunicadores em PortugalPublication . Delicado, Ana; Rowland, Jussara; Estevens, João; Truninger, Monica; Falanga, Roberto; Schmidt, LuísaO CONCISE Papel da comunicação de ciência nas perceções e crenças dos cidadãos europeus sobre ciência é um projeto de investigação que procura compreender o papel que a comunicação de ciência desempenha na origem das crenças, perceções e conhecimento sobre questões científicas.
- “Smoke in the air?” Uma entrevista com Yves Cabannes sobre a democratização da democracia através do orçamento participativoPublication . Falanga, Roberto; Ribeiro, José Duarte; Moniz, JoãoParticipatory democrats consider Participatory Budgeting (pb) one of the most deeply established practices in contemporary democracies. Through giving citizens a say in policymaking processes, pb unlocks ideals of power-sharing between political elites and the citizenry (Sintomer et al., 2012). Thus, allocating a share of the public budget to participation is expected both to more consistently respond to citizen needs and to transform the state from within (Avritzer, 2006).Originally launched in Brazil in the late 1980s, pb received enthusiasm from alter-globalist and leftist movements during the 1990s, particularly for its emphasis on social justice and inclusion. In the 2000s, global agencies endorsed pb, contributing to its now widespread dissemination. While the pb successes have garnered praise across different regions, there are concerns about whether and how this quintessential practice of participatory democracy continues to deliver on its original promise (Baiocchi and Ganuza, 2012).Inspired by his work on the historical trajectory and transformations of pbover recent decades (Cabannes, 2004), we invited Emeritus Professor Yves Cabannes – internationally recognised for his research and practice in this field – to share his insights. José Duarte Ribeiro and João Moniz, under the coordination of Roberto Falanga, held an interview with Yves in August 2023 as part of an ongoing collaboration with international experts on participatory and deliberative practices, funded by the eu project incite-dem.1In this inter-view, Yves Cabannes generously shared his personal perspective on different pb streams and, with his characteristic and contagious enthusiasm, reaffirmed his strong belief in democratising practices. He warned against “filtered” pbthat serve only to dilute the transformative potential of participatory budget-ing and leave nothing but smoke in the air.Yves passed away in January 2025 to the great shock of all those who have drawn from his work, experienced the pleasure of knowing him personally and shared special moments together. To counter our grief, we hereby commit to keeping his legacy alive and sharing it with both older and younger genera-tions of participatory democrats. In celebration of his lifelong dedication – as a scholar, practitioner, and activist – to making the world a better place, we present this edited version of the interview.
- Plataforma Online PERSIST. Ferramenta de avaliação para atividades de envolvimento com a ciênciaPublication . Delicado, Ana; Vicente, Helena; Rowland, Jussara; Estevens, João; Truninger, Monica; Falanga, RobertoA plataforma digital PERSIST é um instrumento de avaliação da eficácia de uma atividade de envolvimento com a ciência. Foi desenvolvida no âmbito de um projeto Erasmus+. Está disponível em acesso aberto em https://persist.erasmus.site/pt/platform/.
- DemocraciaPublication . Falanga, Roberto
- Assessing the role of democratic innovationsin environmental sustainability: a systematic literature reviewPublication . Ribeiro, J.D.; Falanga, Roberto; Moniz, JoãoAddressing the climate crisis requires innovative governance mechanisms that integrate citizen participation with environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. While democratic innovations have gained traction in climate governance, their capacity to drive systemic environmental change remains underexplored. This study identifies how they contribute to environmental sustainability by mapping their linkages to specific Sustainable Development Goals. Based on a systematic literature review, the study examines the environmental dimensions of democratic innovations and the policy domains through which they incorporate sustainability goals. Findings reveal that democratic innovations influence public perception and policy, revealing their capacity to reshape governance frameworks and align local priorities with climate policies. However, institutional constraints, fragmented policy uptake, and varying national governance capacities hinder their full potential. Strengthening the political embedding of participatory processes and fostering cross-sectoral integration is essential to ensure that democratic innovations contribute to long-term and transformative sustainability transitions.