Nets4Dem is a European network intended to connect organisations working on democratic innovation, civic deliberation, public participation and citizenship education. Launched in June 2023 with Horizon Europe support, it is coordinated by Democracy Reporting International (DRI), based in Berlin, Germany.13 Its founding group comprises 12 organisations, including Eurocities, the European Partnership for Democracy, Demos Helsinki, People Powered and the Trans European Policy Studies Association.10
The project responds to a problem its organisers identify as fragmented knowledge and limited coordination among researchers, practitioners and institutions working on democratic renewal.1 Its approach is to build connections across government, civil society and academia, while making research and practical guidance easier to find and use. The project’s resources include an open-access database of research, a curated resource centre and a toolbox for developing participatory initiatives.7
In its first phase, Nets4Dem reviewed more than 1,160 research projects and assembled more than 300 practical publications and tools in 33 European languages. It also reports that over 200 policymakers and practitioners from 29 countries took part in training and mentoring, and that 92 democratic innovation initiatives were co-designed and implemented with network support.2 Local work included Democracy Labs in Grenoble, Barcelona and Bilbao; a Eurocities-led publication draws on those labs to describe city-level approaches and offer recommendations for local policymakers.5
The network’s stated reach includes more than 200 cities, 75 national governments, 50 universities and think tanks, and 400 civil society organisations.2 In its next phase, it plans youth-focused city pilots in Łódź and Leipzig, multilingual training, an AI-supported helpdesk, research and foresight work, and a government-led participation action group.2