Democracy Labs: Field Catalysts for a more inclusive and future proof society
From the 4th to the 6th of October took place the Democracy R&D network annual conference. Arantzazulab members co-facilitated two workshops, below we share the key ideas presented in one session. On the 5th of October we co-facilitated a workshop together with Eva Rovers and Charley Fiedeldij from Bureau Burgerberaad, and Ane Miren Valenciano and Ione Ardaiz from Arantzazulab.
We organized this session to open the reflection on what democracy labs are and the role they can play in democracy innovation. We wanted to explore with workshop participants the following questions: What are the different democracy lab models and roles (ownership, legal status, governance structure) and what are their key characteristics to be transformative (flexibility, legitimacy, agency, accountability, relationship with public institutions/governments, scale, neutrality…)? What types of activities do they carry out and what are the different democratic innovation tools and processes that they promote? How do we ensure that the knowledge and tools developed by these labs are integrated in governments & decision-making spheres?
We started the session introducing two Democracy Labs as an inspiration to the group discussion. Below we capture the introduction to what Arantzazulab is and the lab model that we have been capturing in the last months.
About Arantzazulab
Arantzazulab is a democracy and governance innovation laboratory that promotes new forms of collaborative governance between public institutions and civic society. Arantzazulab is set up as a non-profit, non-partisan foundation and it is supported by key institutions in the Basque country: public institutions from three levels of government (regional -Basque Government-, provincial -Gipuzkoa provincial council- and local -Oñati town hall-) and other key stakeholders from the private sector, such as Mondragon Corporation and Kutxa local bank foundation. In the Advisory Board are represented the three universities in the region, research centres and other local Social Innovation labs, which provide an important endorsement of its objectives.
The lab is also a reference centre on Collaborative Governance within the Provincial Council’s Etorkizuna Eraikiz strategy (Strategy website and reference centres website ). The aim of the Lab is to develop and promote collaborative governance through reflection, research and experimentation on new models of relationships between public institutions and civil society. The ultimate goal is to empower citizens, promote collaborative governance in public policy and deepen democracy. The lab aims at transforming and innovating the relationship model between governments and citizens, and acts as a meeting point/ innovation ecosystem catalyser to bring together different stakeholders: governments, academia, social and democratic innovation practitioners and experts, and citizens. Through this approach, the lab facilitates the participation and empowerment of people in the public agenda. Social challenges are explored through community involvement and collaboration between stakeholders by means of four strategic pillars: (i) Collaborative governance; (ii) Activation of the ecosystem; (iii) Openness and internationalisation; and (iv) Research, training, and delivering new knowledge to society. The practice of the lab is based on introducing and proposing innovative and transformative approaches for governance innovation, building collaborations and networks, internationalisation while staying connected to local strong community and cultural values.
More information on the lab and the different initiatives and projects:
The Lab’s model
Arantzazulab is a laboratory for innovation in democracy and governance. It acts as a facilitator of deliberation and co-creation spaces, and as a catalyser of stakeholders networks, to facilitate democracy innovation outside public governments and connected to public institutions.
This enables avoiding public bureaucracy, increasing the capacity for cutting-edge practices, as well as autonomy, flexibility, and speed in implementing programmes. This is an approach to overcome the rigidity and slowness of public administration procedures and recognise their legitimacy to influence public policies. The lab’s key features are the following and they are described below:
- Autonomy
- Legitimacy
- Power-sharing. Collective Leadership and Accountability (Co-responsibility)
- Experimental
- Meeting point.
1. Autonomy
It is a non-profit and non-partisan foundation. Funders (mainly public institutions, as explained later) allow for the lab to operate autonomously. Arantzazulab has the freedom to design and implement the strategies and initiatives based on practice and lessons learned.
2. Legitimacy
The lab was initiated and it is supported by public institutions (the three government levels in Basque public administration: local, provincial and regional), other social innovation labs in the region and private organisations. Currently, the lab has the endorsement of 13 major local institutions and stakeholders. This gives the lab the legitimacy to enable and facilitate cutting-edge experimentation that can transform local institutions and public policies.
3. Power-sharing, Collective Leadership and Accountability (Co-responsibility)
Arantzazulab sits between public institutions and society, acting as connectors. The lab follows a Collaborative Governance logic. It seeks to build collective leadership by calling and uniting actors in the specialised field, building trust, facilitating cooperation and catalysing innovation.
The institutions that fund and support the lab share their decision-making power, resources, knowledge and funding to work collaboratively and explore solutions to the complex challenges that the Basque region faces.
The lab has a hybrid accountability structure. Arantzazulab is accountable to the government representatives, to the public administration and to political leaders. But it is also accountable to the external formal partners (private organisations, and other social stakeholders that are part of our governance structure).
4. Experimental
Arantzazulab creates and facilitates a space for open and brave experimentation. It seeks to develop new ways of thinking and doing to promote collaborative governance and democracy innovation. It seeks advanced approaches internationally to adapt them and test them in the Basque region, as well as co-designs and co-develops innovative approaches locally.
5. Meeting point
Arantzazulab acts as a network builder and ecosystem catalyst. The labs convenes local and international stakeholders to connect knowledge, capabilities and the impact that each one is having separately. It also mobilises resources to develop new experiments and generate knowledge in collaboration.
The lab is a neutral meeting point, and when we say neutral it means that it is a place where diverse opinions, perspectives and political cultures meet. Though the lab has been promoted by a government in power at the time, it is required to work with diverse local stakeholders, and with different political cultures. Arantzazulab promotes the collaborations of a wide variety of actors, brings together stakeholders that are used to compete between them, provides a meeting point for free reflection, and enables a safe space for innovative experimentation.