About us

The Office for Participation and Empowerment as part of an active, diverse urban society

Vienna is a city that already offers many participatory opportunities. The Office for Participation and Empowerment adds to this with the aim to enable more participation for Viennese and support a thriving democracy. The activities and offers of the Office for Participation and Empowerment are constantly being expanded building on the experiences and lessons learned from the successfully implemented projects of the Vienna Climate Team. We consider ourselves part of an active, pluralist society and fulfil different roles and functions:

Hub for exchange, networking, and mutual learning

We are a point of contact for information and advice concerning participation and democracy development, and we want to make sure that all people who live in Vienna can participate even more. The City of Vienna aims to become a forerunner of a participatory, vibrant and forward-looking culture of democracy and participation that includes everyone. Our services provide support for politics, administration and initiatives to achieve high-quality and diverse participation. We promote cooperation, networking, the exchange and creation of knowledge, as well as the joint development of ideas by representatives of politics, administration, interest groups and Viennese residents.

Promoters of participation

Participation is the opposite of marginalisation. Therefore, we are particularly committed to supporting people who are less involved in what is happening in the city due to disadvantages and who do not feel addressed by the existing participation opportunities. We are creating new spaces and low-threshold options for them.
Outreach work and local multipliers aim to support participation and dismantle obstacles to participation. This is done through exchange and conversations, as well as through advice, education and support with the aid of experts.
People in Vienna can not only share their ideas but also get the right tools to talk to the city administration and actively shape their city in joint projects.

Networkers

We work with others to bring people together and support co-creative cooperation, including with other cities. We want to create a space of learning and exchange and enable people to meet as equals.

Innovation drivers

We create incentives and provide input and encouragement for people to acquire knowledge, learn, and develop new ideas and processes together.
We advise and support municipal departments and district administrations in how to make their administrative processes co-creative, cooperative, and as low-threshold for everyone as possible. That includes consulting on process design in participatory projects, how to reach target groups, creating settings that work for the situation and target group, as well as support in implementing participation processes to promote novel and participatory solutions.

Facilitators

We enable, strengthen and empower. We provide room for development and testing. We support self-efficacy. We enable the re-learning and experiencing of democratic knowledge and practices, enduring and accepting contradictions. We support exchange and networking with politics and administration, making democracy tangible. We give Viennese the opportunity to express their needs and be appreciated, heard, and proactively involved in urban life.

Co-creation and cooperation: For a Vienna that belongs to all of us

The Office for Participation and Empowerment wants to highlight what unites us over what divides us. People with different backgrounds get together to exchange opinions and knowledge and cooperate on future developments, honing their skills in the process. People can present ideas, and these ideas can be discussed and negotiated.
In doing so, people gain a better understanding of joint decision-making and approach things cooperatively to find solutions together.
The Office for Participation and Empowerment believes in the transformative power of co-creation and cooperation to make administrative processes approachable and understandable. We want more people to

• contribute,

• understand political topics better, and thus

• be able to help shape their city in significant ways.

The Office for Participation and Empowerment builds on the experiences gained by the Vienna Climate Team and develops these further together.

Principles

 

The work of the Office for Participation and Empowerment is based on the following principles:

• Participation and inclusion of everyone

We create spaces that enable the broad participation of everyone in Vienna – regardless of their gender, age, origin, religion, or social background. We advocate for an inclusive and diverse democracy where every voice is heard.

• Transparency and openness

We communicate the processes, results and decisions in a clear and understandable way to strengthen trust and understanding.

• Dialogue and cooperation

We promote the open dialogue and cooperation of politics, administration, science and civil society. We treat everyone as equals and adhere to the principle of multipartiality. That means that we are willing to take the side of everyone involved.

• Innovation

We support and test new ideas and approaches to continue developing democracy and participation. We question existing structures and processes and try new paths.

• Community and co-creation

We rely on the strength of community and the power of collective intelligence. The collaboration of different disciplines and sectors holds the potential for the development of sustainable solutions. With all these kinds of cooperation, we promote a vibrant and dynamic democracy that has broad support.

• Empowerment and competence-building

We strengthen people by imparting knowledge, building competences, promoting their abilities, and supporting them in realising their self-efficacy.

• Continuous learning and adaptation

We are always learning and adapting our work to the current needs. Using findings from practice, research, and evaluations, we are continuously improving our processes and services.

• Respect and appreciation

We are unbiased and approach everyone with respect, appreciation and empathy. We create an atmosphere where different opinions are heard, and people are considered experts on their own lived reality.

• Sustainability and common welfare

We consider the needs and interests of all people in Vienna and develop solutions together that promote the social, ecological, and economic welfare of our urban community.