Over the past decade, Europe has launched more than 300 transnational projects to boost democratic innovation. Yet one challenge persists: ensuring their long-term integration across different territories. To address this issue, the European project ScaleDem proposes pilot and twinning programmes. Niels Tjlle of Democracy X and Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner of the Nexus Institute, who help run these measures, break it down for us.
Missions Publiques. If you had to cite an example of a democratic initiative implemented in recent years in Germany or Denmark that has successfully moved beyond the experimental phase and been rolled out in a concrete and sustainable way at the national level, which one would you highlight?
Niels-Kristian Tjelle Holm. There’s a lot of promising initiatives to highlight! Recently, I’ve been particularly interested in projects that focus on embedding democratic innovation in a national or local culture. We’ve collaborated with Danish housing associations to integrate democratic practices in everyday livelihoods. Our colleagues at WeDoDemocracy situate a lot of their activities in a cultural hub in outer Copenhagen. The Danish Library Association makes use of the widely accessible infrastructure of libraries to reach new audiences with democratic processes. The list goes on, but I see a great potential to be unlocked.
Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner. As for Germany, we would call it the Citizens’ Assembly on Nutrition. Held in 2024, it was the result of several years of institutionalization efforts: it was the first national citizens’ assembly commissioned by the German parliament, the Bundestag; previous national citizens’ assemblies had been initiated by civil society initiatives.
Missions Publiques. In your view, why do democratic innovations struggle to be scaled up, particularly at the European level?
Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner. It is obvious: Democratic innovations often have an innovative character. They must provide proof of concept, and in times of economic, health, and democratic crises, it is becoming increasingly difficult to convince commissioners, especially public administrations, of the pay-off of such innovations. This makes it even more important to help promising concepts achieve this proof of concept and show them ways and means of deepening, improving, disseminating, and consolidating their good, innovative ideas, for the benefit of democracy.
Niels-Kristian Tjelle Holm. I think one barrier for effective scaling is a lack of spaces where we can learn from each other’s practices. Democracy is not a static entity, but a continuously evolving phenomenon. Finding the right hooks and approaches for democratic innovations to flourish and scale is not easy, because contexts differ over time and place. Sometimes it seems as if scaling is not about democratic innovation itself, but about whether we manage to operate it in a way that is context sensitive. By that logic, there’s a need to learn, not new methodologies, but rather ways of thinking about – and approaching democratic innovation.
"Sometimes it seems as if scaling is not about the democratic innovation itself, but about whether we manage to operate it in a way that is context sensitive.
Niels Tjlle
of Democracy X
Missions Publiques. Following the December open call to test the ScaleDem approach, can you summarise the aims of the Pilot and Twinning Programmes, who should apply to each, and the concrete benefits they offer?
Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner. The Piloting Programme aims to test bold democratic innovations in the real world. It supports projects that test innovative ideas to strengthen democracy by developing new democratic innovations, improving established ones, or applying them in a new framework. It is a safe-to-fail environment aimed at individual development and collaborative exchange in a protected space. By scaling promising democratic solutions, these projects are expected to increase democratic resilience and deepen citizen engagement. So every organisation or consortium, who has a concrete idea on how to address an issue linked to democratic innovations and its scaline and want to get an opportunity to test it, should apply.
Niels-Kristian Tjelle Holm. The Twinning Programme seeks to offer a platform for collaborative learning. The focus is to explore the potential of approaches that have previously proved to effectively scale democratic innovations. We wish to engage both experienced scalers (referred to as mentors) and practitioners that need guidance to scale their democratic innovation (referred to as mentees). Throughout the one-year course of the programme, we will facilitate a process where small groups, each consisting of one mentor and several mentees, tackle the specific contextual scaling barrier of each mentee. Unlike many learning initiatives, the SCALEDEM Twinning Programme offers to financially compensate both mentors and mentees. Additionally, we’re setting up three physical meetings for cross-pollination and networking between participants across the programme.
Missions Publiques. What non-financial support do selected projects receive (e.g., mentoring, peer learning, evaluation, political engagement)? How will SCALEDEM help projects manage risks during experimentation?
Niels-Kristian Tjelle Holm. The Twinning Programme is facilitated by Democracy x, who has conceptualized and managed the programme model in a Danish context for several years. We offer mentors leadership training and a network to learn from mentors of other communities. Mentees are offered guidance tailored specifically to their context and needs. Democracy x facilitates community meetings, where mentors and mentees dedicate their time to help solve your scaling problems.
Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner. Besides the financial support for the realization of their project, selected applicants gain peer-to-peer support from the other piloting projects and will be offered extended advisory through the SCALEDEM Consortium via individual consulting, mentoring and capacity-building programs. The results of the pilots will be disseminated to an international network of experts and stakeholders. Through the piloting program, participants will benefit from a safe and supportive environment to experiment with approaches that might not yet fit into conventional funding schemes, fostering creativity and learning-by-doing in a failure-friendly (funding) space.
"This space encourages creativity and learning through experimentation, embracing failure as an integral part of the process.
Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner
of the Nexus Institute
Missions Publiques. What practical advice would you give to organisations considering applying? Specifically, what should they focus on before submitting, and is application support or guidance available?
Thomas Blanchet and Ina Metzner. The program aims for a maximum variety in applicants and projects regarding topic, geographical reach/base, and/or scaling dimensions addressed (for more details, see our scaling dimensions).
We want to know in what way the applicants are experienced in implementing projects in general, but also project related to the issue they want to address in the context of our programme. We want to see that applicants are able to put their proposed project into practice, and we want to see an understanding of democratic challenges and scaling gaps.
Niels-Kristian Tjelle Holm. The Twinning Programme aims to overcome concrete scaling gaps in projects on democratic innovation. My main piece of advice is therefore to be very clear about the scaling barrier(s) you’re facing, or the scaling experience you have. Of course, mentees need to connect the programme to their democratic innovation process. Help us visualize how our programme can realistically elevate the project you’ve got going. If you are in any way in doubt about your application, I encourage you to read our FAQ, our guide for applicants, or to send us your questions via opencalls@scaledem.eu. Until January 31st, you may also send us an early declaration of interest, which we will evaluate and provide qualitative feedback to. Lastly, you’re welcome to join our online information sessions, where you and other interested people can ask questions to the scaling ground consortium.
