Participedia
Summary
A collaborative web platform that collects and shares cases, methods, and organizations related to participatory democracy across 160 countries. It serves researchers, practitioners, and activists interested in democratic engagement.
Review
Participedia represents an innovative approach to documenting and disseminating knowledge about participatory democratic processes through a crowdsourced, open-source model. The platform provides a comprehensive database of democratic innovations, including 2,343 cases, 382 methods, and 872 organizations spanning 160 countries, which allows researchers and practitioners to access and contribute to a growing repository of public participation information.
While the platform's collaborative approach is its primary strength, potentially enabling rapid knowledge sharing and global perspectives on democratic engagement, it also relies on user-generated content which may introduce variability in quality and comprehensiveness. The project is supported by academic institutions like the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and operates with an interdisciplinary approach, bridging research, education, and practical applications of democratic innovations. Its mission to mobilize knowledge about participatory democratic processes could have significant implications for understanding and improving civic engagement strategies globally.
Key Points
- Global crowdsourced platform for documenting democratic participation
- Supports researchers, practitioners, and activists in sharing democratic innovation cases
- Open-source model with contributions from 160 countries