Participatory and deliberative democracy (PDD) processes have on the one hand been celebrated for their potential in addressing political distrust and polarisation by deepening public engagement. On the other hand, they are often accused of being cosmetic solutions to deep-seated problems that continue to exclude already disempowered groups (along socioeconomic, gender, racial, physical and mental ability lines). INSPIRE aims to tackle these accusations and failures by fostering intersectional equality, through participatory spaces that are: inclusive and start from the needs and assets of marginalised groups; resilient to changes in government and developing upon existing grassroots work to support community resilience; and embedded within the wider public sphere and in productive relationships with policymaking institutions (Bussu et al 2022a; Escobar 2022). We employ three key ideas: the political economy of participation, co-design, and assemblage theory. We place emphasis on socioeconomic factors that affect people’s capabilities to participate, or the political economy of participation. We use a range of arts-based, digital and creative methods to co-design with participants inclusive participatory spaces that move beyond just talk-centric deliberation, which can exacerbate existing inequalities. To analyse and foster intersectional equality within PDD we need to overcome the linearity and oversimplification that sometimes characterise methodological approaches in the field, which tend to overlook the dynamism, complexity, and messiness of participation. The concept of assemblage helps us look at how different participatory practices coexist, interact and change across local, national and transnational levels. Using these theoretical and analytical tools we can trace more clearly processes and power dynamics that exacerbate inequalities, and we can strengthen democratic and inclusive participation through its many forms and practices.

SOILTRIBES main goal is to pave the way towards inspiring “back to Earth” narratives translated in new formats of knowing, feeling, and behaving in regard to soil, its importance and challenges, and its future, which is deeply connected with ours. Approximately 60-70% of EU soils are unhealthy and the soil degradation costs the EU several tens of billion euros per year. The EU Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’ aims to invert this scenario having designed an ambitious plan where citizens and organisations are key. SOILTRIBES gathers 25 partners, from 11 countries from the different EU regions and designs a methodology that will contribute to the achievement of the ambitious EU plans by fostering soil literacy and connectivity, through the (i) establishment, activation, and empowerment of a multi-actor network (+1000 members), 7 Soil Lab Activators, 7 Stewardship Assemblies; (ii) financial and scale-up support scheme (+1,7M€ FSTP) to nearly 80 projects/ teams recognising existing solutions or the development of new innovative and creative solutions for an enhanced soil literacy; (iii) design of +10 resources, tools and manuals for long-term use by private/public organisations willing to engage with citizens to increase soil literacy; (iv) and program, curation and implementation of nearly 200 events for wide dissemination, communication and pollination of soil topics (workshops, soilathons, soilblitz, creative exhibition, festivals). Framed by an engaging narrative, the “Tribes” will share the same commitment and will embark on a powerful journey of transition and transformation, bolstered by the nexus of science, technology, arts, and society.

"<< Objectives >>The project will develop a Crowdfunding Digital Academy for CCIs, an online platform co-designed in order to train partner’s staff, cultural professionals and operators on using crowdfunding to launch/boost their projects. It will be the most important executive tool of the project and will be conceived to reach different target groups, including people that could meet geographic or economic obstacles, acrossing social and cultural barriers.<< Implementation >>The project wants to empower CCIs operators/professionals through the ""Training for Trainers Programme"", the ""Crowdfunding for Culture Digital Academy'' and the development of the ""Crowdfunding Campaigns"".<< Results >>Increased understanding and knowledge from partners side on what crowdfunding is and how it can be used as a tool for stimulating innovation and engagement in the CCI sector Ensure wide and open access to an European and standardized training programme on crowdfunding, including several learning materials (toolkit, atlas, case studies) Increased transfer of knowledge and know-how among partners and their staff on specific issues on innovative and correct crowdfunding campaigns"

RECHARGE is about participation and the value of cultural heritage and its institutions. RECHARGE is about participation and the value of cultural heritage and its institutions. Emerging from the pandemic, the role played by many CHIs in keeping citizens engaged and mentally healthy through a variety of creative initiatives is widely acknowledged; however, this was also a time of financial loss. Turning that creativity into money that keeps the institution afloat is the challenge RECHARGE is set to answer. Participation is core to the value proposition of cultural heritage institutions and can be the means through which communities - whether corporates, citizens or other CHIs - become CHIs’ stakeholders. RECHARGE will set up an iterative and intrinsically participatory environment -the Living Labs- as means to co-create and prototype participatory business models. The consortium will actively document and analyse this process, which will result in economic measures of effectiveness, indicators of sustainability and participation, museologic reprofiling of social and cultural spaces, cultural and social valuation, and managerial development of participatory business models. Combining both rigorous academic research and hands-on analysis through the Living Lab, RECHARGE will deliver a Playbook containing the ingredients and recipes that can be adapted to local environments to create participatory business models for their communities. The online Knowledge Base, populated with research results, will support the uptake in the sector and among interested communities, while the Academy will engage the CHI networks and build capacity to make a real difference in the landscape of CHIs. RECHARGE boasts a multidisciplinary team bringing together different university departments, independent research organizations and CHI representatives from six EU countries. Together, we will make the CH sector more resilient and better equipped to deal with future challenges and transitions