ALDA - ASSOCIATION EUROPEENNE POUR LA DEMOCRATIE LOCALE

Their core work

ALDA is a European association based in Strasbourg that specializes in local democracy, citizen participation, and inclusive governance across Europe. They bring participatory methods and civil society engagement to EU-funded research — acting as the bridge between policy research and the communities affected by it. Their core contribution is designing and running citizen engagement processes, deliberative democracy exercises, and local-level policy consultations, particularly around migration, rural development, and the Green Deal transition.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ALDA's early H2020 work (2015-2018) focused on understanding how crises reshape public attitudes and local governance — projects like Re.Cri.Re. studied symbolic universes and crisis representation, while ENLARGE tackled energy governance reform. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward participatory approaches for major EU policy agendas: migration integration, rural policy co-creation, and most recently the European Green Deal with emphasis on gender equality, just transitions, and environmental justice. The trajectory shows a clear move from studying societal problems to actively facilitating citizen-driven solutions for them.

ALDA is repositioning as a go-to partner for citizen engagement in Green Deal and just transition projects, combining their democratic participation expertise with climate and sustainability agendas.

How they like to work

ALDA operates overwhelmingly as a consortium partner (6 of 7 projects), coordinating only once — their strength is contributing participatory expertise to larger research efforts rather than leading them. With 103 unique partners across 29 countries, they are a highly networked hub organization that rarely repeats the same partners, making them well-connected across diverse European research communities. Their consistent presence in medium-to-large consortia suggests they are valued for bringing civil society reach and citizen engagement capacity to projects that need real-world policy impact.

Exceptionally broad network of 103 unique partners spanning 29 countries — one of the widest geographic spreads possible in H2020. This pan-European reach reflects their role as a democracy and governance organization with member agencies across the continent.

What sets them apart

ALDA occupies a rare niche: they are neither a research lab nor a government body, but a civil society organization that can mobilize citizen participation at local level across dozens of European countries. This makes them uniquely valuable for any consortium that needs genuine public engagement, deliberative processes, or grassroots policy validation — capabilities that universities and research institutes typically cannot provide. Their shift toward Green Deal topics means they now combine democratic participation methods with climate and sustainability agendas, a combination few organizations can offer at this scale.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Re.Cri.Re.
  Their only coordinated project — studied how economic and social crises reshape public attitudes and policy, establishing their expertise in understanding societal narratives.
• SHARED GREEN DEAL
  Their largest project by funding (EUR 194,000) running to 2027, covering the full spectrum of Green Deal topics from climate action to biodiversity with a social sciences lens.
• SHERPA
  Best example of their core value proposition — directly engaged rural communities in co-creating evidence-based agricultural and rural policy across Europe.