Vertrouwen in burgers

Actively engaged citizens are vital for a living democracy. They keep representatives of the people and government agencies on their toes, renew society with their ideas and initiatives and provide policy support. It is therefore worrying that only small groups of citizens feel addressed by the way policymakers try to involve them. By means of a literature study and field research, the Council has identified the opportunities and possibilities to entice citizens into active involvement. The Council distinguishes three fields of citizen involvement: policy participation, social participation and social initiative, and makes recommendations for increasing citizen involvement in all fields. Two basic principles are essential for the role of policy makers: think from the perspective of citizens and increase the frameworks for involvement. This WRR research leads to suggestions and advice on how policymakers and policy implementers can make more and better use of the knowledge, skills and preferences of (individual) citizens.