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.
Advancing Low-Carbon Mobility in Cascais
This initiative stands out for its holistic approach to integrating sustainable mobility, climate resilience, and community-driven innovation as Cascais transitions to carbon neutrality.
Apadrinaunolivo.org
This non-profit organisation creates rural jobs by increasing the number of olive trees in production.
B-MINCOME: guaranteed minimum income & active social policies in deprived urban areas
B-MINCOME effectively improves the well-being of families in socially excluded and deprived areas by combining minimum income guarantees with inclusion policies.
Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales Pilot
The Welsh Government’s basic income pilot tests how a limited period of basic income payments helps support care leavers in Wales to transition from care into adulthood.
Beatriz Galindo Center for Homeless Women Victims of Violence
The Beatriz Galindo Centre incorporates the gender perspective into the municipal network of homeless care resources by addressing the specific needs of homeless women.
Big Bocs Bwyd
Big Bocs Bwyd empowers future generations to care about the food they eat, understand how it is produced, and learn about how they can live healthy lives.
Building Hope: Lenartov’s Journey to Inclusive Living
This transformative housing project in Lenartov shifts marginalised Roma families from poverty to self-sufficiency, sparking a profound cultural shift.
Buzzwatch – Safeguarding Our Bees
The Buzzwatch project determines the quantity of local food available for pollinators, enabling governments, nature managers, and beekeepers to adjust their policies and interventions.
Change It (Změň To)
The participatory budget “Change It” (in Czech, Změň To) encourages young people aged 12 to 25 to submit their proposals to enhance the public space in Říčany.
Circular Economy of Waste for Land & Environment
The HERAmbiente project houses a composting and bio-stabilisation facility which actively recovers non-hazardous waste from the organic fraction of urban waste.
Citizens of Ankara: Re-Assemble!
This innovative Citizens’ Assembly fosters trust and engagement among citizens and local stakeholders, building a more resilient and cohesive social and political landscape across the City of Ankara.
Community Power
Community Power brings low-income communities together with Cumberland Council to co-create new ways to work together.
Condominium E-Voting – Successful E-Democracy
Condominium E-Voting allows residents to communicate their housing issues in a quick, easy, and safe manner, enhancing their engagement in the decision-making process and improving the efficiency of services.
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.
DECIDE MADRID
DECIDE MADRID allows citizens to make direct contributions via the platform, which are evaluated and incorporated into Madrid City Council’s public policies.
Democracy Guide – Giving Responsibility a Face
The Democracy Guide transparently maps who is elected and in office, and where, developing an action plan for a municipal open-data norm.
Democracy in Action: innovative consultations & citizen participation
Innovative consultation methods enable the Municipality to capture more residents’ opinions and make data-driven decisions.
DIPAS_navigator
The DIPAS_navigator scales up public participation and paves the way for more transparency, inclusiveness, and accountability.
Drone-Integrated Rescue System, Pilsen
This project marks a significant innovation by seamlessly blending drone technology into Pilsen’s urban emergency framework.
e-Justice Portal for Inmates
This digital platform is unique, not only in Estonia but across the world, as it enables paperless court proceedings for inmates serving sentences in detention facilities.
Easy Government
Easy Government invites people with disabilities and socially vulnerable people to redesign legal and administrative texts, using easy reading, to create simpler communication materials for all audiences.
Electronic System Installation to Control Water Leakages
This project confronts the important problem of water leaks and losses in water supply networks using up-to-date smart systems.
Exchange Energy for a Better World
By fostering connectivity and ensuring energy security, eFriends empowers individuals to access and participate in green-energy initiatives, particularly photovoltaic projects.
Food Loss & Waste Prevention Unit, Municipality of Halandri
The Municipality of Halandri’s Food Loss and Waste Prevention Unit combines food-waste monitoring, awareness raising, and citizen-science education, with the optimisation of bio-waste using chemical-engineering processes.
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.
Hacknime.to – The New Era of Government
This project uniquely integrates the concept of hackathons into public administration, fusing business concepts with public-sector needs to ensure citizen-centric, prosperous processes.
Healthy villAGE: a participatory & comprehensive model for active ageing in rural areas
This project sees the conversion of an abandoned building into a multipurpose centre for elderly people, hosting various social innovation activities.
Housing Cooperatives in Barcelona
Sostre Cívic is a housing cooperative operating under the right-to-use model, which unites various projects to facilitate self-management in housing development for its members.
Housing First Austria – Arriving Home
Housing First Austria aims to end homelessness for more than 2,000 individuals and establish a system in Austria that will eradicate homelessness altogether.
KOLO: ONE OF THE FIRST PERMANENT REUSE CENTRES IN SLOVAKIA
Citizens can bring items to KOLO for reuse, that would have otherwise been thrown away, to prevent waste and support the circular economy.
Košice 2.0 – Unleashing the Future of Urban Living
Košice 2.0 tangibly improves city life by smartly integrating data, setting new standards in urban progress and showcasing the synergy of technology and community in the digital age.
La Compañía (The Company)
The Company is a network of senior volunteers who provide digital mediation for individuals over 65 years of age.
La Noche es Joven (The Night is Young)
La Noche es Joven (The Night is Young) is a programme initiated by the City Council of Santander that opens its facilities to the youth of the city at night, on weekends, to offer a series of different activities.
Let’s Think Up Lublin Together: creating the participatory intelligence Lublin 2030 Strategy
In a complex process, carried out between 2019 and 2022, a widely accepted vision for Lublin in 2030 was agreed upon with a strategy for the development of Lublin.
Life Mentorship Programme
The Life Mentorship Programme sees socially excluded people paired with mentors for a year, to help them reintegrate into normal life.
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.
Lyon Metro: an occupancy warning system pilot
Real-time occupancy indicators help make using the metro more fluid, avoiding delays during rush hour, and makes the trip more pleasant and less stressful.
Madrid Innovation Lab
Madrid City Council launching the Madrid Innovation Lab to bring knowledge of new technologies to citizens and small companies and create a robust ecosystem around them.
Mapping Roads with AI-Cameras in Garbage Trucks
Helsingborg uses AI technology to address road maintenance by attaching cameras to garbage trucks.
Mayority
Children learn about democracy through the game “Mayority”, in which players take on the role of a Mayor.
Mini.Stadt 2025 Strategy
The Mini.Stadt participation strategy has led Lichtensteig to become an innovative, modern, and cosmopolitan place, in the middle of rural and mostly conservative surroundings.
Next Generation Academy (Academia Próxima Geração)
The Next Generation Academy is a non-partisan political leadership incubator which aims to sustain the renewal of political candidates across all political parties and boost the quality of Portuguese democracy.
Open Data Catalogue & Data Portal, Hradec Králové Region
This data portal is a central information point for the public, providing citizens with a high-quality catalogue of open data from the region.
Panda Labs Junior for Just Transition
Panda Labs Junior for Just Transition (PLJ4JT) engaged more than 750 high school and university students in the key coal regions of Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Advancing Low-Carbon Mobility in Cascais
This initiative stands out for its holistic approach to integrating sustainable mobility, climate resilience, and community-driven innovation as Cascais transitions to carbon neutrality.
Apadrinaunolivo.org
This non-profit organisation creates rural jobs by increasing the number of olive trees in production.
B-MINCOME: guaranteed minimum income & active social policies in deprived urban areas
B-MINCOME effectively improves the well-being of families in socially excluded and deprived areas by combining minimum income guarantees with inclusion policies.
Basic Income for Care Leavers in Wales Pilot
The Welsh Government’s basic income pilot tests how a limited period of basic income payments helps support care leavers in Wales to transition from care into adulthood.
Beatriz Galindo Center for Homeless Women Victims of Violence
The Beatriz Galindo Centre incorporates the gender perspective into the municipal network of homeless care resources by addressing the specific needs of homeless women.
Big Bocs Bwyd
Big Bocs Bwyd empowers future generations to care about the food they eat, understand how it is produced, and learn about how they can live healthy lives.
Building Hope: Lenartov’s Journey to Inclusive Living
This transformative housing project in Lenartov shifts marginalised Roma families from poverty to self-sufficiency, sparking a profound cultural shift.
Buzzwatch – Safeguarding Our Bees
The Buzzwatch project determines the quantity of local food available for pollinators, enabling governments, nature managers, and beekeepers to adjust their policies and interventions.
Change It (Změň To)
The participatory budget “Change It” (in Czech, Změň To) encourages young people aged 12 to 25 to submit their proposals to enhance the public space in Říčany.
Circular Economy of Waste for Land & Environment
The HERAmbiente project houses a composting and bio-stabilisation facility which actively recovers non-hazardous waste from the organic fraction of urban waste.
Citizens of Ankara: Re-Assemble!
This innovative Citizens’ Assembly fosters trust and engagement among citizens and local stakeholders, building a more resilient and cohesive social and political landscape across the City of Ankara.
Community Power
Community Power brings low-income communities together with Cumberland Council to co-create new ways to work together.
The Winners
of the Innovation in Politics Awards 2022/2023
Housing and Work for the Homeless
Housing and Work for the Homeless is an integrated intervention for persons and families facing homelessness and housing exclusion which provides housing, services, and financial support to vulnerable groups.
Participatory Methods in the Revitalisation Process
Rybnik sets a national example for civic improvement initiatives by adopting a participatory approach to the revitalisation of degraded areas.
Sophia Chatbot
Sophia is a digital chatbot that anonymously assists survivors of domestic violence in gathering potential evidence, provides access to resources and support, and continuously evolves to meet the needs of survivors globally.
