Belgium: Institutionalizing Participation, Innovation or Fossilization?

Missions Publiques. Belgium is increasingly institutionalizing certain participatory modalities: random selection is enshrined in law, deliberative commissions are included in the regulations of both the federal Chamber and the Brussels Parliament, and a law has introduced the first permanent citizen assembly in the German-speaking community. What does this enable and guarantee?

Jonathan Moskovic: Deliberative commissions are enshrined in the regulations of the Brussels Parliaments, which mandate three commissions per year, following specific rules: number of participants and sessions, objectives, voting rules, etc. Thus, there were six commissions in the previous legislature. Each commission addresses a theme determined by the Parliament, either suggested by deputies or citizens. The framework aims to set “boundaries” for the process while remaining flexible enough for evolution and adaptation. For instance, during the previous legislature, the regulations and guidelines were adapted to better meet the challenges encountered. There were dozens of modifications, including extending the presence of experts in the process.

Institutionalization ensures the continuity of the mechanism, but its implementation and ambition depend heavily on political will. Federal and regional elections on June 9, 2024, resulted in significant changes in future majorities. A new majority might find it difficult to dismantle the mechanism but could choose not to initiate any deliberative commissions during the term.

Manon Salmain: For the Citizen Climate Assembly, the framework defines the citizen selection method, diversity goals, the overall structure, mandatory follow-up at three and 12 months, etc., while allowing more freedom in organizational formats and methodologies. An evaluation after cycle 1 led to methodological adjustments for cycle 2. For example, we reduced the group from 100 to 70 citizens and used the savings to focus on diversity and quality rather than quantity. We also adjusted the session formats and worked with a specialized organization to recruit more young people.

A major innovation is the institutionalized follow-up of the Citizen Assembly. Each cycle includes two feedback: the first three months after submitting the work to the government and the second one year later. For each cycle, a citizen committee is set up, with 10 volunteers randomly selected to monitor the implementation of the Assembly’s work for a year. Cycle 3 is scheduled to begin in early 2025, with a budget already allocated. However, the future elected officials will be responsible for following up on the previous cycle, and the ambition for this mechanism will depend on political will.

Missions Publiques. Does working continuously with citizens change the work modes within the Parliament or administration?

Jonathan Moskovic: One of the challenges of the commissions is ensuring balanced participation and avoiding domination by elected officials, who are more accustomed to such exercises. Elected officials are present in a ratio of one-quarter to three-quarters citizens, allowing balanced discussions in sub-groups. Initially, elected officials might struggle to find their place, as they are often familiar with the subject and may position themselves as experts rather than participants. However, during their second participation, they tend to play along better and understand their role not as superior citizens or mere observers. Nonetheless, power dynamics exist within citizen groups too, influenced by age, gender, and education. The main challenge remains translating recommendations into public policies and connecting with non-participants.

These commissions have also convinced elected officials themselves. They bring together majority and opposition members, allowing them to experience the deliberative process equally. Many initially sceptical officials have changed their minds and become advocates for deliberative commissions. The very principle of deliberative commissions sends a strong signal to citizens about the need to involve them in co-constructing public policies. As the former president of the Francophone Brussels Parliament said, “What we lose in power, we gain in legitimacy.” This approach is encouraging for future majority changes since it’s not a party-specific mechanism but a proven democratic method.

Manon Salmain: Throughout a cycle of the Citizen Climate Assembly, significant efforts are made to involve civil servants and create dialogue with Assembly citizens. This is positive as administrations have limited contact with citizens and their realities. It’s a new approach for Brussels Environment, fostering dynamics between services. However, it’s challenging to initiate and a learning process for an administration to work with citizens.

We have three key moments: before the Assembly, we gather the relevant service to define the precise question. During the process, services are mobilized to engage with citizens’ work, identify existing initiatives, and help the group progress. After the citizens’ work, we allocate internal time to analyse their proposals and respond adequately, avoiding technical jargon. This time is crucial to understand citizens’ needs and learn from their suggestions.

Key Takeaways from the Workshop and Discussions:

• Institutionalization integrates citizen participation into public policy-making routines without fossilizing it, if continuous improvement is sought.
• Engaging citizens, elected officials, and administrations ensures better appropriation of results and recreates links between these groups.
• Institutionalization is not a 100% guarantee but sets boundaries: random selection, number of work sessions, mandatory follow-up.
• Political ambition and will always determine the success of a process.
• Institutionalization should be considered alongside more occasional mechanisms to avoid redundancy and overlapping efforts.
• A good institutionalization formula is to sustain the process over time without prolonging the citizens’ mandate. The process is long-term, not the citizen engagement.
• The existence of a national residents’ register (in Belgium, Germany) greatly facilitates random selection.
• Not all mechanisms need to be institutionalized.

For More Information :

• Citizen Climate Assembly website: news, articles, and citizen profiles.
• Interview with Alain Maron, Minister for Climate Transition, Environment, Energy, and Participatory Democracy
• Interview with Magali Plovie, former president of the Francophone Brussels Parliament
• Brussels Parliament website