CHALLENGE
Politicians often lack direct input and the opportunity of qualified dialogue with the citizens who, in their everyday lives, must live with the politicians’ decisions.

Aarhus Municipality wanted to ensure that all of the “users” of a new integration policy – i.e. citizens, caseworkers, the police, employers, etc. – felt “ownership” of the new policy.

FINDINGS
Only a few residents – including refugees and immigrants – are fully aware of and involved in the general political processes.

New political initiatives are often seen as something coming “from above” and the public feels no ownership of them. This gets in the way of politicians’ performance and success.

The process requires strong facilitation, as most people in the target group are not accustomed to being involved actively and often have widely different ideas and experiences to draw on.

SOLUTION
“Policies developed by the citizens” is a process that makes it possible for many different people with many different ideas to contribute to new policies. Together with social researchers and designers, these people go through a design process in which they exchange experiences and develop prototypes for new policies. The proposals are presented in catalogues and at exhibitions.

Based on experience gathered in Aarhus, the prototype of “policies developed by the citizens” was developed. The process led to an important qualification of the decision-making basis for politicians, transparency in the political decision-making process and a greater feeling of ownership of the political
initiatives among refugees and immigrants.

Consultants VIA Design and Monday Morning
Customer Municipality of Aarhus