TEAM

Lorenzo Bosi and Irina Aguiari

WEB SITE

START YEAR 2024

END YEAR 2027

DEMETRA, “Democratic Governance, Environmental and Climate Challenges, and Societal Transformation: Deliberation, Inclusiveness, and Citizen Empowerment for Sustainable Food Systems,” is a Horizon Europe project aimed at addressing the intersection of democratic governance and sustainability transitions, particularly within food systems. It spans over seven countries – Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom – employing a mixed-methods approach to analyze new deliberative participatory processes (DPPs).

At its core, DEMETRA seeks to enhance citizen inclusion and empowerment in the governance of sustainable food systems through the development and implementation of innovative DPPs. It examines these processes at micro, meso, and macro levels, focusing on their quality of deliberation, inclusiveness, and impact on societal transformations towards sustainability. Key objectives include assessing the setup, process, and outcomes of DPPs, demonstrating their potential to influence public policy and sustainability transitions, and promoting democratic and inclusive practices in decision-making.

The project is structured around four main building blocks: understanding DPP setup, evaluating DPP processes, analyzing DPP outcomes, and scaling effective solutions derived from DPPs. Research activities include measuring climate literacy among citizens, designing cross-national surveys, studying civil society and private sector involvement, evaluating local government support, and utilizing experimental ‘living labs’ to engage citizens in policy development.

DEMETRA aims for broad societal impact through targeted communication strategies, policy briefs, and interactive educational tools, while also contributing to scientific knowledge through publications and conferences. Ultimately, it strives to facilitate a democratically governed sustainability transition that addresses climate change and promotes social equity in food systems.

Project partners

Scuola Normale Superiore (Italy), Tartu Ulikool (Estonia), Institut Catholique de Lille (France), Private Universitaet Witten/Herdecke (Germany), Uppsala Universitet (Sweden), Universite de Geneve (Switzerland), Univeristy of Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK), Queen Mary University of London (UK). Non academic partners:  Campi Aperti per la Sovranità Alimentare (Italy), Cinemovel Foundation (Italy), Ernahrungsrat fur Koln und Umgebung (Germany).

FUNDING

European Commission (Horizon GA no 101132286), the UK Research and Innovation (10116425) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (23.00524).