SCALEDEM

Overview

In recent years, over 300 transnational projects have fostered democratic innovations—whether participatory, digital, or deliberative—bringing together researchers, civil society organisations, and public authorities. Yet, despite these efforts, the scalability and political impact of these innovations remain uncertain. Launched on December 5 2024, the Horizon Europe EU-funded SCALEDEM project supports the adoption and scaling of democratic innovations to foster more inclusive and participatory governance. In 2026, two open calls will provide funding and support for real-life experimentation, ensuring these innovations have a lasting impact.

SCALEDEM bridges this gap by ensuring that democratic innovations move beyond experimental projects and achieve meaningful, widespread adoption. Our approach helps researchers, practitioners, and policymakers identify opportunities and challenges for scaling democratic innovations across four key dimensions:

• Scaling High – Influencing laws and policy
• Scaling Out – Reaching more and new people
• Scaling Deep – Transforming cultures and identities
• Scaling In – Enhancing the quality of democratic processes

Comprehensive Infrastructure

To ensure the widespread adoption of democratic innovations, SCALEDEM is developing a comprehensive infrastructure with several key tools:

• A Knowledge Map (Nets4Dem) – A centralised resource compiling insights on democratic innovations, making them easily accessible.
• The Translation Hub – A space dedicated to transforming research into concrete political action. This hub nurtures a global community of over 500 end-users, including researchers, civil society organisations, policymakers, practitioners, science communicators, and cultural institutions. Open to all, it fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing.
• Two Scaling Grounds – Testing the replicability of innovations in new contexts. In 2026, we will financially support and oversee the implementation of more than 13 democratic innovations, engaging over 39 third parties through open calls.

Our role

Dublin City University (DCU) is delighted to collaborate with a distinguished network of partners across Europe on SCALEDEM, contributing to the enhancement and institutionalization of democratic innovations. As the lead for research on scaling democratic innovations within policymaking structures, DCU focuses on identifying the barriers and enablers that influence institutional adoption. Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups with policymakers and public servants, we develop research-based methodologies to bridge the gap between democratic innovations and real-world governance.

Contact

For more information on the SCALEDEM project, you can visit the website or our official press release.

Project details

Duration: 1 December 2024 – 31 May 2028

Financed: Horizon Europe

Consortium:
– Missions Publiques (MP) – France
– European University Institute (EUI) – Italy
– Dublin City University (DCU) – Ireland
– Research Institute for Sustainability – Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam (RIFS-GFZ) – Germany
– ifok GmbH (IFOK) – Germany
– European Capital of Democracy (ECoD) – Austria
– Democracy X (Danish Board of Technology Foundation) – Denmark
– Nexus Institut (NEXUS) – Germany
– Fondazione ICONS (ICONS) – Italy
– GLOBSEC (GLOBSEC) – Slovakia
– Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) – Belgium
– Democracy Reporting International (DRI) – Germany
– Extituto de Política Abierta (EX) – Colombia

Key Information

• Project dates:1 December 2024 – 31 May 2028
• Website:https://scaledem.eu/
• Contact:Professor Jane Suiter

Funder

Horizon Europe