How can we scale meaningful citizen participation at a time of shrinking financial resources? As democracies face growing pressure from both outside and within, this challenge is becoming increasingly urgent for everyone working to make democratic practices more resilient and inclusive.
This question lies at the heart of the first webinar of the Resonance Space series: a peer-learning and reflection space developed within the ScaleDem project.
“All ‘Bout the Money? Scaling Democratic Innovations amid Scarce Financial Resources”
8 June 2026 | 16:00–18:00 CEST
Online — Register to receive the connection link
The webinar will be moderated by Constantin Schäfer (ifok) and feature three experienced democracy practitioners sharing concrete and resource-savvy approaches to participatory democracy:
Daniel Oppold (Service Center for Citizen Participation Baden-Württemberg) will explore how institutional support structures can help small municipalities deliver impactful deliberation on limited budgets.
Sofía Castillo (ISWE Foundation / Global Citizens’ Assembly) will present the “community assembly” model, enabling locally rooted and easily replicable Citizens’ Assemblies worldwide, even in low-resource contexts.
Cheri-Leigh Erasmus (Accountability Lab) will discuss how the “Civic Strength Partners” approach helps civil society organisations protect their missions, consolidate strategically, and strengthen ecosystem resilience following cuts to overseas development aid.
Participants will also have the opportunity to join facilitated breakout sessions and explore one of these approaches in greater depth.
We look forward to welcoming you: save your spot and share the invitation with other democracy practitioners and innovators in your network.
Cover image by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels