The Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is launching a call for local authorities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo^*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to receive support in organising citizens’ assemblies.

The three selected local authorities will receive a grant of €30 000, alongside expert and technical support by the Council of Europe to design and facilitate citizens’ assemblies.

A citizens’ assembly brings together people who reflect diversity of their community. Participants learn about public issue, consider different perspectives and develop recommendations. Through informed discussion and deliberation, they can contribute with practical ideas to local decision-making. As local governments increasingly face complex challenges requiring inclusive decision-making, deliberative democracy mechanisms such as citizens’ assemblies can help restore trust and ensure policy legitimacy. This call gives local authorities the opportunity to organise structured participatory processes that enable citizens to contribute directly to shaping their communities, in line with the Council of Europe’s recommendation on deliberative democracy, hence contributing to advancing the New Democratic Pact for Europe.

Why participate?

Participating local authorities will receive financial support and expert and technical guidance to design, organise and facilitate meaningful citizens’ assemblies. This is an opportunity to:

• Foster inclusive governance by engaging a representative cross-section of the local population in deliberative processes.
• Enhance decision-making by gathering informed recommendations on challenging local policy.
• Strengthen democratic culture by building capacity for transparency, accountability and partnership between citizens and public authorities.

Who can apply?

The call is open to local authorities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia that are committed to implementing innovative participatory mechanisms and fostering democratic resilience.

How to apply?

Interested local authorities are invited to submit their applications by 20 November 2026 (at 23:59 CET) to the email [email protected] . The application package, including guidelines and selection criteria is available here Call for organising Citizens’ Assemblies. 

To support applicants, two online information sessions will be organised on 2 November and 9 November 2026. The sessions will provide more information on what citizen assembly is, the open call and application requirements. The working language of the info sessions will be English, with interpretation in Albanian, BCMS and Macedonian.  

For registering for the info sessions, please fill in the registration form on the following link: REGISTRATION.

Join us in advancing deliberative democracy and building more responsive local governance across South-East Europe

The call is launched within the framework of project “Strengthening innovative democracy in South-East Europe” implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Multilevel Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe with the financial support of Germany.

Resources:

• Congress page on deliberative democracy
• Guide on "How to organise deliberative democracy processes at local level"
  Available in: ENG – FRA - SQI – BOS – MKD – RON – SRP – UKR

^* All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations' Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo.