Digital democratic innovations: characteristics and evolution of participatory platforms. The cases of Decidim Barcelona and Decide Madrid
Abstract
In the last decade, multipurpose participatory platforms based on free/libre and open‑source software (FLOSS) have spread across the world. They were originally designed to promote direct democracy by fostering participation, deliberation, and citizen influence on public policies. In this article, we explain what participatory platforms are and why they can be considered democratic innovations, what their functionalities are, and the participatory processes they can host. We then focus on two of the most important platforms worldwide —Decidim and Consul— and their evolution over the past decade following the cases of Decidim Barcelona and Decide Madrid. We show the democratic innovation potential of participatory platforms and their institutionalization, but also the challenges they face and the importance of the political context in the development of their democratic potential and in their acceptance and use by citizens.
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