Democracy Lab Progress Report 2017/2018

Summary

What should the democracy of the future look like? Which institutional changes are required to cope with the challenges of a globalised and digital world? And how can we include people more effectively in political decision-making processes? The Democracy Lab brought together stakeholders from civil society, academia and politics in order to find answers to these questions. In our Progress Report, we present our ideas, projects and results of the first project phase.

With its innovative formats, international conferences and publications on democratic transformation, the Democracy Lab has become a hub for innovators in the political sphere in Germany and Europe. The Progress Report 2017/2018 shows the highlights of our work.

Das Democracy Lab

The Democracy Lab

Das Progressive Zentrum’s Democracy Lab opened in April 2017 as a platform to bring thinkers and doers together to discuss democratic innovations. Its main objective is to develop positions, ideas and methods to improve and reform democratic structures and processes, but also to think beyond the current intellectual models we apply when thinking about our political system. It offers a space for creative, interdisciplinary and international exchange. As a collaborative platform, we translate ideas coming from civil society into practical recommendations for decision-makers.

Our sponsors

We would like to thank the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the programme “Demokratie leben!” for their support for the project “Democracy 2025 – Democratic innovations for a changing society“.

Authors

Sophie Pornschlegel

Policy Fellow

Sophie Pornschlegel is a Policy Fellow at Das Progressive Zentrum and currently works as Director of Studies with the Brussels think-tank Europe Jacques Delors.

Hanno Burmester

Alumnus

Hanno was a Policy Fellow at Das Progressive Zentrum until October 2021, where he worked primarily on the future of democracy. With his consulting company unlearn, he advises DAX corporations, medium-sized companies and public institutions on the cultural side of digitalization.

Paul Jürgensen

Senior Policy Advisor

As a Senior Policy Advisor, Paul Jürgensen oversees projects on representation and participation, democratic innovations and visions, and dealing with right-wing populism and extremism. Prior to this position he completed the trainee program at Das Progressive Zentrum. He is co-author of the book "Schleichend an die Macht" (Dietz Verlag, 2020) and the study "Brücken bauen für die Demokratie" (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2020).

Michelle Deutsch

Alumna

Michelle Deutsch was project manager overseeing projects on representation and extremism. She also focused on democratic innovation with an emphasis on the role of the public sector.

Content

Zusammenfassung
Autor:innen

Sophie Pornschlegel

Policy Fellow

Hanno Burmester

Alumnus

Paul Jürgensen

Senior Policy Advisor

Michelle Deutsch

Alumna