Exploring updates of institutional infrastructures for resilient and future-proof democracies
The Democratic Innovations Lab explores new forms of political participation that can make democratic processes more inclusive, effective, and sustainable.
The Democratic Innovations Lab develops and tests new forms and designs of institutions that can revitalize democratic practices and strengthen democratic resilience.
We explore how democratic innovation models can be diversified and strengthened, particularly by tapping into the diverse resources of democratic theory. We bring together theorists, empirical researchers, and practitioners to collaboratively evaluate existing practices and think about novel approaches.
By linking debates on new designs in the political and the economic sphere, we show how democratic innovations can form an ecosystem spanning society.
Why we exist
Democracies are under pressure worldwide. They face fundamental social, political, and technological transformations and the existential challenge of the climate crisis. Trust in representative institutions is decreasing, leading to political alienation among many citizens.
Updating the institutional infrastructures of democracies is a necessary part of comprehensive and effective responses to these challenges. By expanding and redesigning opportunities for political participation, democracies strengthen their ability to find creative, inclusive, and sustainable solutions to today's challenges.
There is great untapped potential in democratic theory to enrich our ways of thinking about democratic innovations. Connections between different actors in the field of democratic innovations still needs to be established. The goal of the Democratic Innovations Lab is to explore this untapped potential and see what new dynamics it can create for democratic innovation.
What we do
We organize different events that bring together theorists, empirical researchers, and practitioners to foster community building and cross-sector initiatives tailored to advancing innovative work on participatory processes in various sectors.
The Democratic Innovations Lab generates and pools knowledge about diverse ways of thinking about and designing democratic innovations and develops design tools that can serve as guidelines for implementing democratic innovations in various contexts.
We strive to develop and test new models of democratic innovation together with partners from research, politics, civil society, and business.
How we work
The Democratic Innovations Lab adopts a multiperspectival approach to democratic innovations that is sensitive to the varying contexts of participatory processes.
Our work is based on the assumption that bringing together different perspectives – from political theory, empirical research, and practical experience – is the best way to expand possibilities for imagining and rethinking democratic innovations.
We collaborate with a range of researchers, academic institutions, actors from civil society, corporations, and policymakers, to identify ambitious yet realistic ways of conceptualizing, prototyping, and testing new forms of democratic engagement.
The lab’s work aims to contribute to the creation and development of participatory ecosystems that render democracies more inclusive, effective, and sustainable.
How to get engaged
The Democratic Innovations Lab welcomes collaboration with theorists, empirical researchers, and practitioners across disciplines, sectors, and regions. Individuals and institutions interested in engaging with the lab’s activities or collaborating on public events or joint research projects are encouraged to get in touch.
For inquiries, please contact Manon Westphal manon.westphal@hfp.tum.de or Gesa Lüdecke at gesa.luedecke@hfp.tum.de.
