2023 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"

The participatory democracy policy implemented in Suresnes (France) since 2020 aims to bring together technical expertise (staff), political expertise (elected representatives) and user expertise (residents). The aim of this method is to renew social ties and include residents and people working in Suresnes in the design and implementation of projects, whatever the public policy.

To implement this policy, the City of Suresnes has deployed a wide range of participatory democracy tools: neighborhood councils, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, the Communal Youth Council, the Participatory Budget, the participatory democracy platform and the Mobile Town Hall. The use of these tools varies according to the approach adopted by elected representatives and departments. For example, the downtown redevelopment project uses all these tools to encourage the participation of all residents. Other initiatives, such as the renewal of criteria for the allocation of crèche places or the choice of locations for billboards, involve the neighborhood councils, in conjunction with the elected representatives and departments directly concerned.

The challenge of renewing social ties encourages our departments to reach out to the widest possible audience for all our initiatives. Today, almost 10% of the Suresne population has been able to take part in at least one participatory democracy project, thanks to networking efforts supported by members of the Neighborhood Councils and associations, and to special time spent with young and not-so-young Suresnois, notably during the Participatory Budget.

This work is particularly successful with the Neighborhood Councils, which are at the heart of the City's initiatives. The presidents, elected members of the majority, and the vice-presidents, residents who are members of the district councils, co-construct the agendas, the running of the body and evaluate it annually.

https://jeparticipe.suresnes.fr/ (External link)