Description
This commitment has been submitted to the Open Gov Challenge as part of Spain’s 2025-2029 action plan, under the “Participation and Civic Space” category (Milestone 1.4.3).
Explore the full action plan: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/spain-action-plan-2025-2029
Background
The Innovation Laboratory for Participation in Public Plans and Policies, known as HazLab, was born from a citizen proposal included in Commitment 3 of the plan to improve citizen participation in public affairs. Since its creation, HazLab has operated as a pilot project, demonstrating its potential and functionality. During this time, a draft portfolio of services has been developed that includes three key initiatives to encourage citizen participation in public plans and programmes: Collaborative Spaces, Participatory Processes and a Media Library. In addition, the OECD has identified 12 models of deliberative processes based on experiences from various European countries, further enriching HazLab’s approach.
What is the problem/need that the initiative aims to resolve?
To strengthen and consolidate the functioning of the HazLab Laboratory, it is essential to undertake a transformation of the space, adapting it to the new wave of deliberation and defining rules and procedures that will guide its implementation and adjustment to OECD standards. This will ensure an impactful initiative that will enable HazLab to become the digital deliberative hub for public administrations. This proposal aims to define the characteristics, rules and processes of the HazLab Laboratory’s Collaborative Spaces and Participatory Processes services, give them maximum publicity and extend public deliberation through digital media as a form of public decision-making. The ultimate goal is to turn HazLab into a deliberative digital platform that allows for structured discussion forums with expert moderation and access to verified information.
Brief description
The commitment consists of promoting a “deliberative wave” that incorporates mechanisms of democracy beyond the ballot box, paying attention to both cross-cutting issues—traffic, climate, water management—and public issues that have traditionally been excluded. To this end, rules governing Collaborative Spaces and Participatory Processes will be established and implemented throughout their entire life cycle—from application to closure—in accordance with OECD deliberative models. The project also includes the dissemination and operational launch of the service.
Objectives
This project aims to promote citizen participation through HazLab, implementing models of Collaborative Spaces and Participatory Processes that offer a clearly defined service to users. The goal is to extend the wave of deliberation to the formulation and implementation of public policies, in line with the recommendations of the OECD, which has identified 12 models of deliberative processes used internationally to strengthen participation in decision-making.
1. Citizen Assemblies: Large, randomly selected groups deliberate on complex issues and make recommendations.
2. Citizen Panels: Small groups (20-30 people) address specific public policies.
3. Policy Juries: Similar to a court jury, applied to political decisions.
4. Deliberative Planning Cells: Used in urban planning and infrastructure.
5. Citizen Forums: Regular spaces for deliberation and advice.
6. Deliberative Polls: Large-scale surveys combined with deliberation sessions.
7. Citizens’ Conventions: Extended and more structured versions of assemblies.
8. Mass Deliberative Crowdsourcing: Digital platforms for real-time debate.
9. Public Policy Councils with Citizen Participation (Mixed Deliberative Councils): These combine the participation of government experts and randomly selected citizens.
10. Online Deliberative Platforms: Digital spaces where citizens can discuss policies in real time.
11. Mini-Publics: Small groups representative of society that analyse an issue and make recommendations.
12. Information-Driven Surveys: Questionnaires preceded by key information to encourage more thoughtful responses.
How does the initiative contribute to solving the problem or meeting the need?
In order to consolidate HazLab as a benchmark for democratic innovation and citizen participation in public policy-making, it is essential to establish a solid and transparent regulatory framework that guarantees the effectiveness and sustainability of its services. The structuring of Collaborative Spaces and Participatory Processes will not only facilitate their management and control, but will also allow their impact to be scaled up, ensuring that more actors—citizens, organisations, and administrations—can benefit from these spaces for deliberation and co-creation.
Furthermore, to foster a transformative participatory culture, HazLab will deploy a comprehensive strategy that combines advanced deliberative methodologies with innovative technological tools. Through the implementation of facilitated citizen roundtables, co- creation workshops with design thinking approaches, deliberative public consultations, and representative citizen panels, deeper, more informed, and inclusive participation will be promoted. These spaces will not only allow citizens to experience first-hand the power of deliberation in decision-making, but will also strengthen trust in institutions and public governance processes.
To ensure the success of these services and maximise their reach, a strategic outreach plan will be implemented to ensure that all sectors of society — especially those historically underrepresented — are aware of and have access to these opportunities for participation. Multi-channel campaigns, media partnerships and digital outreach strategies will be implemented to attract a diverse participant base and foster engagement continuous citizen. In this way, HazLab will become an engine of change, driving the wave of deliberation and consolidating a model of participation that serves as a benchmark at the national and international level.
Relevance to open government values
HazLab’s Collaborative Spaces are designed to revolutionise citizen participation, raising the standards of co-creation and collective intelligence in the formulation and implementation of public policies. It is not just a matter of generating opportunities for consultation, but of establishing dynamic environments where citizens become key players in the construction of innovative solutions to public challenges of all kinds.
These spaces function as laboratories for democratic innovation, where structured deliberation and experimentation with new methodologies guarantee the generation of viable and transformative proposals. Through initiatives such as facilitated citizen roundtables, co-creation workshops, design thinking applied to public policy, idea labs, and digital discussion forums, opportunities for effective participation are expanded, ensuring a diversity of voices and perspectives that enrich decision-making.
In addition, Collaborative Spaces act as catalysts for transparency and integrity, ensuring that each deliberative process is public, traceable, and subject to evaluation. The implementation of interactive digital platforms and the proactive dissemination of the progress and results of each initiative ensure that citizens not only participate but can also monitor and evaluate the impact of their contributions.
With this ambitious approach, HazLab’s Collaborative Spaces will not only facilitate citizen participation, but will transform it into a strategic tool for redesigning public policies, promoting a model of open, inclusive governance based on collective intelligence.