Reform Description

This action is aimed at institutionalizing participatory practices and fostering a culture of participation within the Banská Bystrica municipal administration. It focuses on strengthening the role of participation and integrating it into the daily functioning of the Banská Bystrica municipal office. It seeks to firmly root a culture of participation within the structures and routines of the Banská Bystrica municipal office.  The foundation of this action lies in the development of the concept of "Colaboratory" as an innovative, educational, and networking laboratory in the field of open governance innovation and participation, equipped with sufficient coordination capacities. 

Problem(s) Addressed by Reform


Banská Bystrica faces persistent challenges in fostering a participatory culture within its governance structures. Dialogue and co-creation are rarely used in addressing urban issues, leading to misunderstandings, misinformation, public distrust, and social polarization. As a result, policy solutions often fail to reflect the collective intelligence of the community.
The root causes include:
•        Conservative institutional culture and reluctance to change among civil servants.
•        Lack of skills and experience in participatory methods, facilitation, and collaboration.
•        Top-down leadership and the dominance of representative democracy over participatory models.
•        Mutual distrust between municipal staff and civic actors.
•        Absence of clear internal guidelines and procedures for engaging the public in decision-making.
•        Limited leadership support for participatory governance.
These factors contribute to weak institutionalization of participation. Without a systemic approach, participatory processes are implemented sporadically and rarely influence actual decisions.

To address these challenges, the city must:
•        Promote a culture of openness, experimentation, and trust.
•        Build civil servants’ capacities in facilitation, co-creation, and depolarization strategies.
•        Develop and institutionalize internal frameworks and guidelines for participation.
•        Ensure visible leadership support for participatory governance at all levels.
Embedding participation into city operations is essential for inclusive, transparent, and effective local governance.


The foundation of this action lies in the development of the concept of "Colaboratory" as an innovative, educational, and networking laboratory in the field of open governance innovation and participation, equipped with sufficient coordination capacities. 

Relevance to OGP Values

This reform directly advances the core values of open government—transparency, public accountability, and civic participation—through the creation of the Colaboratory, an innovative and systemic approach to collaborative governance.
Civic Participation
At its core, the Colaboratory is designed to strengthen civic participation by embedding participatory practices into the daily functioning of local governments. By equipping municipal staff and local stakeholders with skills in facilitation, participatory leadership, and process design, the action empowers public institutions to meaningfully engage citizens in shaping policies, strategies, and development projects. The initiative also builds a community of practice, fostering long-term collaboration between public officials, civil society, and other local actors.
Transparency
The development of methodological guides, a knowledge-sharing platform, and a structured database of stakeholders contributes to greater transparency in governance processes. These tools make information, methods, and participatory opportunities more accessible, helping citizens understand how decisions are made and how they can be involved. Transparent practices are further reinforced through open access to co-created outputs and shared learning across sectors.
Public Accountability
By promoting inclusive policy-making and enabling public oversight through participatory mechanisms, the reform strengthens public accountability. Decision-making becomes more responsive to diverse perspectives, while institutional commitment to participatory values is supported through systematic implementation, training, and peer learning. The Colaboratory acts as a reference model for Slovak municipalities seeking to institutionalize open governance principles in practice.
In sum, the proposed action not only aligns with open government values—it operationalizes them, creating practical pathways for embedding openness, responsiveness, and inclusivity into the local governance ecosystem.


Intended Results

Specifically, the action will deliver the following results:

- A functioning system of cooperation and a networked community of actors within the Banská Bystrica, connected by their shared interest in inter-municipal collaboration, advancing participatory approaches, and developing cross-sectoral partnerships to support territorial development, high-quality public policies, development strategies, and projects in Banska Bystrica city and its surrounded area. 

- Strengthened capacities of local stakeholders, primarily municipal staff from the Banská Bystrica City Office and local village administrations, in the areas of open governance, participatory leadership, facilitation, polarisation management, participatory process design and implementation, cross-sectoral collaboration, design thinking etc.

- Development of practical tools, such as a networking database, methodological guides, a knowledge platform, and a community of practice for FMO BB actors focused on open governance, participatory design, and cross-sectoral partnership management in policymaking and territorial development;

- Establishment of a reference lab for the development and implementation of open governance practices within the environment of Slovak local governments.

Milestones

Preparatory phase of the Colaboratory activities (6 months – 12/2025 to 06/2026) - this will include: establishing the governance structure and operational model of the FMO BB Colaboratory; mapping and building a community of local actors—municipal staff, village administrations, socio-economic stakeholders, and civil society organizations—committed to territorial cooperation, participatory approaches, and cross-sector partnerships; building capacities of Calaboratory coordinators.
Implementation of the Colaboratory activities (28 months – 12/2025 to 03/2028) - this will include: Facilitating networking and activating partnerships through regular meetings, collaboration frameworks, tools, and stakeholder databases; providing consultation and support in designing and implementing participatory processes and cross-sector partnerships for policymaking, strategy development, and project implementation;
ensuring positive engagement and meaningful experiences for stakeholders by identifying needs, managing online discussion platforms, and organizing access to shared outputs and materials; coordinating participatory meetings, networking sessions, training, and knowledge-sharing events to strengthen cooperation, participation, and partnership-building in public policy and development across the area of Banska Bystrica.
Phase of development of methodological documents and recommendations, dissemination activities, and project evaluation (22 months – 06/2026 to 03/2028)

Is Civil Society Involved?

Yes. Civil society actors will be involved as participants of the Colaboratory activities as well as actors responsible for the delivery of some Colaboratory activities.