The goal of the project is to increase the demand for meaningful, inclusive public consultations in public administration of Latvia (both at the state and municipal level) within the timeframe of two years.

The project will be implemented by the Centre for public policy PROVIDUS - a Latvia-based think-tank which has 18 years of experience in organizing public engagement activities. In 3 of the 12 project activities, PROVIDUS will partner with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Affairs to improve opportunities for public involvement at the municipal level.

The project will consist of the following main activities:
1) Public opinion survey and two studies on participation opportunities (both good and bad examples);
2) Seminars and master classes for local governments, as well as for national level public administration employees on modern face-to-face and digital engagement methods;
3) Informative materials (educational cartoons, posters), which will educate both decision-makers and the broader public about the effective and ineffective methods of organizing consultations with the public;
4) International high-level conference on successful examples of public engagement;
5) A deliberative event on a topical political topic, where Latvians (including representatives of vulnerable groups) would be randomly selected to discuss problems and offer solutions to decision-makers.

The project will lay a solid foundation for increasing the awareness of local and national decision-makers about the importance of organizing quality consultations. The project will also strengthen and improve the image of civil society organizations as constructive partners for state and local governmental institutions.