Digital Participation

Does more digitalisation lead to more democracy?

New communication technologies are bringing people closer together across vast geographical distances. Never before has it been so easy to get information, exchange views and help shape the opinion-forming process. Thanks to the short communication channels, more opinions could be brought in and listened to when making decisions. Digital participation thus has the potential to restructure many areas of life. For example, the organisation of companies could become more participatory and thus overcome steep hierarchies. But the way we participate in the political system could also change. Can we have a direct say in more areas in the future? If so, does this always lead to a better result?

Projects

Raiffeisen

Raiffeisen

Digital participation for the Raiffeisen Cooperative Banks

Digital technologies enable participation that goes beyond the bratwurst at the neighbourhood festival. We have initiated this process at Raiffeisen and report on it here.

Case Study
DigitalLabor

DigitalLabor

A shared vision of digital Switzerland 2030

Digitalization has been here for a long time. You can neither vote it out nor ignore it. But what does a digitalization that puts society at the centre look like? With the DigitalLabor, we travelled across Switzerland with the question: (How) do you want to digitize Switzerland?

Case Study
TA-SWISS

TA-SWISS

Digital futures of democracy

The future must be actively negotiated and shaped - and in a democratic way. For the Foundation for Technology Assessment, the Dezentrum developed three future scenarios for a digital democracy in the year 2050. In a participatory and interdisciplinary process, three short stories were created, each illustrated by a speculative object.

Case Study
Forum For Inclusion

Forum For Inclusion

A platform for people without voting rights

Dezentrum developed Forum For Inclusion for the Prototype Fund. It is a web application where people without voting rights can share their opinion on national votes. Anonymously and via voice message. The project wants to question who is allowed to participate in the democratic discourse and at the same time experiment with the digital public. Once a year, Opendata.ch's Prototypefund supports projects that aim to strengthen digital participation.

Case Study
KOKON

KOKON

A digital conference on co-creation in the theatre

For the Festspiele Zurich, we conceived and realised a digital conference on the idea and applicability of co-creation to the classical theatre business together with STRIDE and Benedikt Wyss. Co-creation was not only the theme, but also the programme: versatile formats experimented with forms of digital co-creation and participatory documentation.

Podcasts

How we support organisations

Thematic Inputs

With our input presentations on the topic of digital participation, you can gain an initial overview of how decentralized technologies are likely to affect your industry. Our input sessions are tailored to your needs and your specific organisation.

Brown-bag lunch Book

Developing desirable future scenarios

On basis of scenario planning, we formulate desirable future scenarios and, on this basis, develop options for action for the present. For us, working with future scenarios forms the basis for not only reacting to technological and social developments, but also proactively responding to changes. We offer scenario workshops or train you in the application of scenario planning.

More information (PDF) Book

Testing desired future scenarios in a short time

Experimenting with new ideas and approaches is a central aspect in order to position oneself as an organisation successfully in the context of automated society. With the first prototypes, for example, valuable knowledge can be gained in a short time and possible courses of action explored. We are happy to support you in this project!

Project partnerships and consulting

Our project partnerships range from one-day workshops to collaborations lasting several years. We bring in our expertise on questions concerning the topic of automated and actively help you to implement your projects.

Questions?

Jeannie Schneider
Jeannie Schneider