Even though city councils across the world cannot approve major decisions without proper public consultations and offline citizens' engagement in the time of Coronavirus quarantine constraints, various digital platforms, open data and e-democracy tools can keep citizens informed and engaged in the decision-making process.

Along with the increased use of online means by public authorities, a significant increase in online responses to online surveys and public consultations is noticed these days, as people work from home and have fewer meetings. However, we also know that they may not be representative of the critical audiences from whom you want to hear – especially the seldom heard. This is why stakeholder mapping is so important – it’s not quantity that matters, it’s who responds, what they say and, importantly, why?

The Elections and Civil Society Division offers support to local authorities in ensuring the sustainable and representative involvement of citizens in decision-making under quarantine constraints, inter alia, in designing ‘no-touch’ consultation plans in these special circumstances, designing the engagement strategy and deploying proper dialogue methods to achieve the objectives, reaching all stakeholders and social groups, especially seldom-heard, hearing their voices, insights and innovative ideas.