In light of the widely discussed crisis in democracy, there is a growing demand to enhance citizen participation in the political process. Moritz Fromm observed the “Richtlinien-Prozess”1 (external links) for public participation of the city of Frankfurt am Main and will offer insights into this process. Additionally, he will examine how it aligns with and informs the research program of the RTG. Moritz Fromm is currently a research assistant at the Chair of Political Theory held by Sandra Seubert at Goethe University Frankfurt and an associate member of the RTG. His doctoral research explores the conceptual foundations of transnational popular sovereignty. In addition, he investigates ‘democratic innovations’ – new procedural approaches aimed at fostering direct citizen participation in governance.
Johanna: Could you elaborate on the guideline process for public participation of the city of Frankfurt am Main, and explain how you came to be involved in the process as an observer?
Moritz: The aim of the process was to establish a binding guideline for informal participation procedures in the city of Frankfurt. Informal participation procedures are those that are not legally mandated. The intention was for the guideline to emerge from a participatory process in which politicians, administrators, organized civil society, and citizens collaboratively contributed to its development and with the final version being adopted by the city council. It is standard practice in such processes to conduct a scientific evaluation, a task I was responsible for throughout the duration of the project.
Johanna: What was your role in the observation process?
Moritz: I was tasked with preparing an evaluation report, which involved observing the activities of two key bodies within the process: the working group and the steering committee. The working group was responsible for developing the guideline text with contributions from citizens, administrators, and politicians. Meanwhile, the steering committee, led by the head of administration, assessed the potential impact of the proposed guidelines on administrative operations. Upon completion of the process, I summarised my observations and contextualized them within relevant scientific literature to produce the evaluation report.
Johanna: What was the rationale behind the initiation of the process by the city of Frankfurt am Main, and what objectives did it seek to achieve?
Moritz: Many cities have already implemented guidelines for citizen participation, which can be understood as a response by municipalities to the growing demand for participatory practices in the political process.2 This development is also driven by the fact that certain departments or offices within the administration have considerable experience in organizing participation processes, while other areas lack such expertise and seek to establish similar procedures. Consequently, the initiative likely aimed not only at consolidating the administrative knowledge and experience across various departments but also at collaboratively developing a standardized framework for future participatory processes with input from citizens and politicians to ensure consistency and reference for all stakeholders involved.
Johanna: You characterize the objective of the guideline process as the establishment of standards for future participatory procedures. In what ways does this project align with the research agenda of the RTG?
Moritz: The process is pertinent to the RTG’s research agenda on multiple levels. One key observation is that the expansion of citizen participation is increasingly structured as a form of public-private partnership where public authorities delegate the organization of participatory procedures to private service providers. In the absence of legal mandates for many of these procedures the standardization of participation practices emerges from the interactions among service providers, public administrations, and, in some cases, academic institutions involved in evaluating such processes. Professionals working in this domain navigate between these three spheres, creating what may be described as a relatively insular group of experts who play a central role in establishing the standards for participatory procedures.
The expansion of citizen participation also reflects a broader search by administrations and politicians for new governance models. It indicates a growing recognition that well-organized participatory processes can enhance the implementation of political projects. Additionally, it prompts a more fundamental inquiry into how to restore trust in established democratic procedures that may have been eroded over time.
The guideline process serves as an example of collaborative governance, wherein the administration, politicians, and citizens engage as partners in a shared project. From the perspective of the RTG it is important to critically examine such governance models. One can highlight, for instance, that they may presuppose, rather than foster, a foundational trust between citizens, the administration, and political institutions.
Johanna: You noted that the key driving forces behind the organization of participatory processes include the administration, private service providers, and academia. In light of this, how can the democratic legitimacy of these procedures be characterized?
Moritz: There is no single, overarching answer to this question given the considerable heterogeneity of participatory procedures. However, it can be stated that the majority of these processes are not initiated in a ‘bottom-up’ manner by the population but are rather driven by the administration or political authorities. As Mark Warren aptly describes it, this trend can be understood as “governance-driven democratization”3. Additionally, it is important to note that most of these processes are managed by private companies with profit motives. However, there are also instances where participatory processes are initiated and conducted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or social movements.
I do not consider governance-driven democratization to be inherently problematic. However, when analyzing this development it is important to consider who is organizing these procedures and for what purpose. Citizen participation is not a homogeneous concept. Some processes may not require a high level of legitimacy, while others may represent more far-reaching proposals for democratic reform. In both public discourse and academic analysis, there is often an overgeneralization under the umbrella term of “participation.” In reality, this encompasses a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from local informational events to national climate councils. It is not productive to treat this diverse field as either a purely technocratic form of governance or as an universal solution for democratic renewal.
Johanna: Could you provide a summary of the key outcomes of the guidelines that were developed?
Moritz: The guideline seeks to establish a list of projects undertaken by the City of Frankfurt, enabling citizens to determine whether public participation is planned for a given project. Furthermore, the guideline stipulates that, with a quorum of 200 individuals, citizens can propose the inclusion of participation processes in projects where they were not initially foreseen. Additionally, a Participation Advisory Board is to be established to oversee the implementation of the guideline, while the guideline also defines the role of the staff unit responsible for citizen participation.
The quality criteria outlined in the guideline emphasize the importance of transparency, accountability to citizens, and the inclusivity of participatory processes. In comparison to other guidelines, particular emphasis is placed on the participation of children and young people in projects that directly affect them, in accordance with legal requirements.
Johanna: The guideline process asserts its objective of enhancing the participation of individuals who have historically had limited influence in the political sphere. To what extent is this objective being achieved, and what measures could be implemented to improve the process in the future?
Moritz: In addition to the working group, for which citizens were required to apply in advance, outreach formats were introduced with the aim of ensuring the inclusivity of the process. However, the technical nature of the subject matter and the significant time commitment involved may have posed barriers to full participation. Consequently, it is not surprising that the process may not have fully met its inclusivity objectives.
It is commendable that the administration and political authorities are considering ways to engage segments of the population that do not usually participate in the political process. However, outreach formats, active engagement strategies, and lottery procedures incur costs that must be allocated judiciously. It is also essential to maintain realistic expectations. While participatory processes can facilitate engagement, it is socio-economic reforms, rather than merely participatory initiatives that are necessary to reintegrate individuals who have lost faith in politics and administration into the democratic process.
It is essential to carefully consider which specific groups need to be engaged for each process to be both effective and legitimate. Once this is determined, it is important to assess how, and to what extent, these groups can be successfully reached. Inclusivity should not be viewed as an end in itself, even though this may initially seem counterintuitive.
It would also be wise to temper expectations in this regard. With a more realistic outlook, the outcomes of many participatory processes – particularly concerning the question of who participates – may prove more favorable than is often asserted. Citizens who have previously been excluded, or only minimally included, in the established political process are indeed engaging in these democratic innovations to a significant extent.
Johanna: Thank you for providing such an insightful and thought-provoking perspective!
- In the following the artivle will use the english translationof this term: “guideline process”. ↩︎
- https://www.netzwerk-buergerbeteiligung.de/kommunale-beteiligungspolitik/sammlung-kommunale-leitlinien/browse/4/ (external link) ↩︎
- Warren, Mark E. (2009). Governance-Driven Democratization. In: Critical Policy Studies. 3/1: 3-13. ↩︎