Digitization Monitor 2023
The Democracy Lab Basel project tested seven specific reform approaches that addressed specific challenges. The aim was to contribute to the modernisation of Switzerland's democratic structures and processes.
Factsheet
- Schools involved Business School
- Institute(s) Institute for Public Sector Transformation
- Funding organisation Others
- Duration (planned) 01.11.2022 - 31.12.2023
- Head of project Dr. Daniel Schwarz Badertscher
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Project staff
Jan Fivaz
Kristelle Plüss -
Partner
Stiftung Mercator Schweiz
digitalswitzerland
Die Schweizerische Post AG
asut Schweizerischer Verband der Telekommunikation
Pour Demain
Schweizerische Akademie der Technischen Wissenschaften
swissICT
Universität Genf
Universität Zürich - Keywords Digital policy, Digital society, Elections, Digital profile
Situation
Developments such as digitalisation, climate change, autocratic tendencies, polarisation of society and declining voluntary engagement are exerting growing pressure on modern democracies to address problems and implement reforms. However, Swiss democracy has hardly changed institutionally over the last 100 years. There is therefore a great need to adapt the instruments of participation and involvement. The project tested reform approaches for better quality citizen involvement.
Course of action
Based on existing political structures, between 2022 and 2025 the BFH identified new approaches to democratic participation, opinion-forming and co-determination, tested their practical feasibility experimentally and translated them into concrete implementation proposals. The individual sub-projects involved a sample of around 3,000 citizens of the canton of Basel-Stadt recruited by means of random sampling.
Result
The description, results and conclusions of the individual sub-projects can be found on the Democracy Lab website (see below). The final findings and recommendations for action on the ‘Basel Democracy Lab’ were published as a policy brief (see link).
Looking ahead
It remains uncertain whether the challenges of digitisation will be adequately addressed by the parties and media before the next elections in 2027. From today's perspective, it is therefore foreseeable that a tool for transparency and opinion-forming in this area will also be necessary in the next elections.
