Duurzaamheid van Burgerinitiatieven

In this project, the democratic legitimacy of citizens' initiatives is investigated by means of a multi-year questionnaire and a series of interviews with stakeholders. The relationship between the democratic legitimacy of citizens' initiatives and representative institutions is examined: can the gap between citizens and politics be narrowed by stimulating citizens' initiatives?

In addition, the factors that can predict the sustainability of citizens' initiatives are examined: How can the municipality position itself to improve this sustainability? What problems do participants of citizens' initiatives encounter? Are the demands that municipalities place on initiatives always in line with the hoped-for result?

The third pillar of this research is the diversity of both participants and initiatives. Is it useful to talk about citizens' initiatives and their participants in general? Can we not reach a better understanding when we specify what kind of initiative we mean? The diversity of participants is also strongly reflected in the issue of democratic legitimacy: do citizens' initiatives provide an alternative for citizens who do not feel well represented in representative institutions, or do they provide additional resources to people who are already well represented?