The project is implementing four typologies of pilot actions, each designed to facilitate different types of engagement between stakeholders, based on the direction of the process and the role of participants:

Top-Down Participatory: In this model, the process is initiated and coordinated by public actors such as local authorities or government agencies. While the overall direction comes from the top, the participatory aspect is preserved by involving the target groups (e.g., immigrants, refugees, or marginalized communities) in consultations, feedback sessions, or focus groups. This approach seeks to gather input from the community to shape policies or initiatives that affect them, ensuring that their voices are heard even if the overarching decisions are made by the authorities.

Bottom-Up Participatory: Unlike the top-down model, the bottom-up participatory process is led by private stakeholders, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community groups, or social organizations. These groups take the lead in identifying issues, proposing solutions, and fostering collaboration with public authorities. This approach encourages active participation and empowerment of the community, ensuring that the solutions are driven by the needs and priorities of the target population, while public authorities are engaged as key partners.

Top-Down Deliberative: This model involves a more structured, dialogue-oriented process coordinated by public actors. The key characteristic of deliberative processes is the emphasis on rational debate, discussion, and consensus-building among participants. In a top-down deliberative setting, public authorities facilitate discussions with citizens and stakeholders to carefully examine policy issues, share information, and deliberate on potential solutions. This method aims to reach decisions that are well-informed, transparent, and widely supported, even though the initial direction and framework are set by public bodies.

Bottom-Up Deliberative: In the bottom-up deliberative model, the process is driven by community organizations or grassroots groups, with a strong focus on encouraging dialogue and consensus-building within the target group. These deliberative processes are structured to facilitate in-depth discussions where participants collaboratively explore issues and solutions. While the process is initiated by private actors, it aims to influence policy or decision-making by fostering informed, reflective conversations that involve all stakeholders. Public authorities may be invited to participate, but the community’s deliberation process takes precedence in shaping outcomes.

Each of these methodologies offers a unique approach to engaging communities and stakeholders, with varying levels of control and influence from public or private actors, and a focus on either participation or deliberation to guide decision-making processes.

Project Partners and Associated Partners are cooperating in jointly designing, implementing and evaluating pilot actions.

Four practice-oriented tools will be developed to enhance the civic engagement of vulnerable groups, drawing from the experiences of the 12 pilot actions. These tools will focus on facilitating co-planning between public authorities and third-sector organizations to ensure that marginalized communities, including refugees and migrants, are actively included in decision-making. The tools will offer inclusive participation platforms to overcome barriers like language, provide capacity-building to improve civic literacy, establish collaborative frameworks for joint policy-making, and create feedback mechanisms to ensure ongoing responsiveness and adaptation of initiatives. Together, these tools will empower vulnerable groups, strengthen their involvement in governance, and foster more inclusive and sustainable civic engagement.

A transnational strategy will be realized for implementing participatory governance and for developing a transnational Action Plan, which will include specific tasks to be taken up by public an private organisations.