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Bordeaux: Workshop of Initiatives

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The Workshop of Initiatives allowed Bordeaux to build an innovative system that facilitates micro-local citizen engagement by removing the traditional obstacles to citizen initiatives. Launched in October 2024 after two years of co-construction with social centers and neighborhood town halls, this mechanism addresses a need identified during the "Permanent Democracy Tour" conducted in 2022 across the city's eight neighborhoods: enabling residents to quickly bring local projects to life without the constraints of the traditional participatory budget, which is focused on municipal investment.

The major innovation lies in the possibility for unstructured groups to receive public support, a rare break from the norm in France. The system also stands out for its speed (approval without going through the municipal council), the hybrid nature of the support (financial, material, human, and communication), and especially the transfer of decision-making power to commissions composed of five rotating residents who evaluate projects on a monthly basis. Unlike the participatory budget, the project leaders carry out their own initiatives, affirming their full capacity to act.

Territorially, the implementation combines centralized municipal management with deployment across the eight neighborhoods through neighborhood town halls and ten voluntary social centers that provide support and mediation. This structure promotes the inclusion of those most distant from participation, especially in priority neighborhoods, and produces remarkable results in terms of gender equality.

To date, after 14 months of operation, 25 projects have been supported, impacting several thousand residents through cultural, environmental, and social cohesion initiatives. Beyond the numbers, the Workshop is transforming administrative operations by turning neighborhood town halls into true players in territorial development and fostering inter-service dialogue.

It is part of a strengthening of permanent democracy in Bordeaux, bringing to life the principles of the Democratic Contract adopted in 2022 and anchoring the recognition of citizen initiatives as a legitimate component of local public action.

For more information: https://participation.bordeaux.fr/assemblies/atelierdesinitiatives

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1866.pdf

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Bordeaux: Workshop of Initiatives

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