The use of participative governance to strenghten rural bioeconomies

The use of participative governance to strenghten rural bioeconomies

Participative governance is key to improve institutional capacities. It increases the political involvement of stakeholders and ensures that all relevant local and regional actors have the possibility to actively engage in the political decision-making system. Within the project GoDanuBio several trainings on participative governance were conducted, the results of these trainings are summarized in this press release.

10 training sessions with almost 300 participants conducted in the Danube macro-region

In total, 10 trainings were conducted by the members of the GoDanuBio project, each training in a different region. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic many project partners chose to conduct the training online, two were able to conduct it physically. In total, 279 participants attended and were able to get to know the basics of participative governance. The main target groups reached within the trainings were local public authorities, business support organisations, and SME’s.

A special focus of the training sessions was set on how participative governance can strengthen the bioeconomy. New opportunities for the bioeconomy were evaluated on regional and/or local level. Circularity and sustainability of the bioeconomy were also main topics of the sessions. Another aspect of the sessions was how politics, industry, and society at local and regional level can be involved in the bioeconomy transition and how citizens and other stakeholders can be encouraged in shaping their region.

Effects of the training sessions

Participative governance in general is a bottom-up approach, which gives all stakeholders a feeling of being heard and respect. This enhances the acceptance of political approaches and decisions. After the trainings, the participants understood to be proactive towards new policies and regulations. Due the respectful atmosphere in the trainings, the dialogue between stakeholders could be strengthened. The diverse methods of participative governance also lead to standardized participation processes and intensified cooperations between stakeholders.