Political parties often face the same challenge: how to meaningfully engage members, experts and citizens without causing frustration, backlash or policy chaos. Poorly designed participation can dilute focus instead of building it.

This session will demonstrate how to get it right. Drawing on the experiences of NEOS Lab, an Austrian party think tank, and the regional party club of the Social Democrats (SPD) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, we will demonstrate how technology-driven participation can strengthen political work. Both organisations use the CrowdInsights online platform to enrich and sharpen policy development, activate and mobilise their communities, and document and amplify political events.

Participants will gain insights into the risks and rewards of digital participation.