Best Practice in Politics
We curate exemplary political work that successfully tackles today’s most pressing issues. This platform is a hub of tried and tested best practices in politics.
A Farmers‘ Supermarket – Coeur Paysan
This is the supermarket where the notion of “eating local” finds its most accomplished form of expression; behind each product offered for sale there is a producer who commits himself and is present in the shop in direct contact with consumers.
Academy of Culture
Coordinated pre-school activities compensate for a lack of kindergartens in a Commune of Poland with dispersed villages.
Actors of a Sustainable Paris
This network is aiming to create a sustainable Paris with activities to reduce the ecological footprint, supported by a website and a physical meeting point.
Administrative Exchange – Baratto Amministrativo
As an alternative to paying directly to the Municipality, taxpayers can voluntarily settle unpaid fees by working for the community.
Alpine Lamb Project
Four-legged lawnmowers, called sheep, are keeping ski slopes in good shape over summer and prevent erosion, overgrowth, and avalanches.
An Electric Car for All Citizens
Climate-friendly mobility is instigated by a single electric car, purchased in a small locality for all residents to share.
Arcueil, Edible City
Growing edible plants in public parks and green spaces makes this town’s community, in front of the Gates of Paris, more enjoyable, sustainable, and connected.
ART2WORK
A series of programmes in personal development and creative exploration build new opportunities for talented young people and reveal their potential.
Aspire Dundee
The programme is using a range of cultural activities – including dance, drama, and music –as an innovative way of tackling deprivation and building the self-confidence of children in Scotland.
Athens Coordination Center for Migrant and Refugee Issues (ACCMR)
Athens installs an effective mechanism coordinating initiatives and programmes for refugees by NGOs, government, institutions, donors, and civil society.
Barcelona, Refugee City
A progressive plan prepares the city for a potentially large influx of refugees, considering the impacts on the inhabitants and coordinating City Council action with NGOs, volunteers, and citizens.
Citizens Round Tables / Urban Walks
Once a year, participative democracy takes place through discussing locally relevant issues with the officials over a cup of coffee or on the go, with the results being published on the town’s website.
CivicLine – a citizen-run innovative public space in a contested territory
Transforming a derelict area in northern Paris into a showcase of citizen governance opens up a new space for many activities in a formerly abandoned public space under the metro.
Communecter – Connect with your Municipality
An exchange platform for feedback and proposals intends to enable each citizen to contribute directly to projects and the governance of a territory, at the neighbourhood, municipal, and regional level.
Connected Parents
A digital literacy programme improves insight into technology for parents, which allows them understand their children better and engage with them more easily.
Crowdfund Angus
The local authority in a remote location backs a crowdfunding platform to appeal to faraway investors.
Digitalisation of the Educational Processes in the Municipal Schools in Plovdiv
Cloud technologies in schools in Bulgaria enable higher-quality education, coordinated materials for teachers, and a good portion of virtual fun, boosting pupils’ interest.
Diversity Management
The City of Mannheim sets the pace for respectful, intercultural urban coexistence, with a round table on diversity management and strategies, such as anonymous application procedures.
Engaging the Long Term Unemployed by Greening Public Spaces and Training
The city’s public green spaces are in this programme maintained by the long-term unemployed, such as people without education or war veterans, who in return get to choose from a range of training and educational courses.
Entourage
Reaching out to homeless people in the neighbourhood, Entourage is developing an innovative collaborative network which helps local residents meet the street people they see every day.
Feminist City Planning – Praxagora
Feminist architecture, focusing on female requirements in urban space in a Stockholm neighbourhood, makes women feel safer and more at ease.
First Paris Donation Box
A donation box for sharing objects is set up on the streets of Paris, welcoming an average of fifteen people every hour who are ready to circulate their items.
Flat-Sharing for Solidarity Projects
Committing to neighbourhood solidarity activities allows students to rent affordable, shared apartments in Lyon.
Good Godesberg
Providing food and hospitality amidst a wave of refugees arriving in this locality in Western Germany makes the new immigrants feel welcome and gives them a fresh start into their new lives.
Improving Outcomes for Young Black Men in Hackney
The integrative approach creates better opportunities for disadvantaged young black men, harnessing successful potential, building on existing success, increasing visibility, and tackling stereotypes in the media.
Inclusive Employment in Park Maintenance
A special consultant team provides support for employees with disabilities and to the management of the Parks and Gardens Municipal Institute in Barcelona.
Integrated Ecological Education in Słupsk
Joint efforts by the City, companies, and NGOs offer coordinated ecological education to bring measurable benefits for citizens, in terms of pollution and costs.
Introducing the Smart City: citizen engagement
The pioneer smart city of Rzeszów offers one-stop-shops for public services, such as car registrations and obtaining IDs, sets up a helpline for the same purpose, and introduces a participatory budget.
Irish Constitutional Convention 2013
A major experiment on deliberative democracy leads to the approval of same-sex marriage through a Constitutional Convention, consisting of two-thirds randomly chosen citizens and one-third parliamentarians.
Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness
The Commission wants to get conversations started, to fight the widespread problem of loneliness, amongst the community and between private and public organisations.
Led by HER
This project develops tools and resources that enable more women to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams through new collaborations and events.
Lighthouse Project School Farm
A community in Baden-Württemberg province provides a small, family-run, all-day primary school with a farmyard, acquainting schoolchildren with traditional farming methods and farm animals.
Liverpool Budget Simulator
A budget simulator enables citizens to better understand budgetary constraints in Liverpool after the city shifts from industrialisation to digitalisation.
London Ealing Council – Trees for Cities Partnership
The urban Borough of Ealing sets up a comprehensive tree strategy, including free fruit for all residents from orchards, planted on public land.
Lower Silesian Economic Activity Zone – S3 Jawor
A planned expressway gives a new boost to an economic activity zone in Poland, attracting new investors.
Marketplace for Good Business, Bocholt 2017
‘Speed dating’ for non-profits and companies paves pathways of mutual support, exploring opportunities for cooperation without using payments.
Marriage Equality
The traditionally controversial measure of same-sex marriage is first introduced by referendum, which leads to its legalisation in Ireland.
More Influence for the Elderly, as Stockholm Reforms Domestic Care Services
Home care in Sweden’s capital gets examined and reformed, making the system more responsive to patients’ needs, especially regarding the distribution of time slots.
Municipal Apprenticeship Initiative
This project organises apprenticeships for refugees, making up for the decline in local applicants.
Municipal Programmes to Improve Citizens’ Quality of Life
Better community services are introduced in the city, which provide easier access to healthcare, such as dental check-ups in schools, and housing and mobility services for the elderly.
Music School in the Country
A professionally organised music school in a rural community in Poland elevates the local culture and artistic interest.
No Wrong Door
Structural changes within council care break the negative cycle for young people, with the introduction of comprehensive, multidisciplinary teams.
One-Day Labour Contracts
Working conditions are protected in Bulgaria by a recent law, guaranteeing farm labourers proper pay and insurance through short-term work contracts.
Online Public Space Problem-Reporting System
To report a problem in public space, users within this project can log the current location of the device used, specify the street address, or just click on a map of the application.
A Farmers‘ Supermarket – Coeur Paysan
This is the supermarket where the notion of “eating local” finds its most accomplished form of expression; behind each product offered for sale there is a producer who commits himself and is present in the shop in direct contact with consumers.
Academy of Culture
Coordinated pre-school activities compensate for a lack of kindergartens in a Commune of Poland with dispersed villages.
Actors of a Sustainable Paris
This network is aiming to create a sustainable Paris with activities to reduce the ecological footprint, supported by a website and a physical meeting point.
Administrative Exchange – Baratto Amministrativo
As an alternative to paying directly to the Municipality, taxpayers can voluntarily settle unpaid fees by working for the community.
Alpine Lamb Project
Four-legged lawnmowers, called sheep, are keeping ski slopes in good shape over summer and prevent erosion, overgrowth, and avalanches.
An Electric Car for All Citizens
Climate-friendly mobility is instigated by a single electric car, purchased in a small locality for all residents to share.
Arcueil, Edible City
Growing edible plants in public parks and green spaces makes this town’s community, in front of the Gates of Paris, more enjoyable, sustainable, and connected.
ART2WORK
A series of programmes in personal development and creative exploration build new opportunities for talented young people and reveal their potential.
Aspire Dundee
The programme is using a range of cultural activities – including dance, drama, and music –as an innovative way of tackling deprivation and building the self-confidence of children in Scotland.
Athens Coordination Center for Migrant and Refugee Issues (ACCMR)
Athens installs an effective mechanism coordinating initiatives and programmes for refugees by NGOs, government, institutions, donors, and civil society.
Barcelona, Refugee City
A progressive plan prepares the city for a potentially large influx of refugees, considering the impacts on the inhabitants and coordinating City Council action with NGOs, volunteers, and citizens.
Citizens Round Tables / Urban Walks
Once a year, participative democracy takes place through discussing locally relevant issues with the officials over a cup of coffee or on the go, with the results being published on the town’s website.
The Winners
of the Innovation in Politics Awards 2024
DEC112 – Digital Emergency Communication 112
In 2019, DEC112 was launched to provide an alternative to speech-based emergency communication by implementing a text-based service.
Lithuania’s Testbed Programme for EdTech Startups
The Testbed Programme is a practical way for schools and creators to test the latest educational technologies in a real learning environment.
Foodcard: dignified state food aid for people in need
The Foodcard is an innovative solution which gives people the freedom and dignity to choose what food and necessities to buy, and from where.