Democracy Labs are collaborative spaces where citizens, policymakers, and civil-society actors come together to imagine and co-create new democratic innovations. Developed within the INCITE-DEM project, they use generative design research to support collective creativity, helping participants explore their experiences of democracy, make sense of societal challenges, and envision more inclusive and participatory futures.

Across a multi-stage process – from sensitising activities to hands-on workshops – participants reflect, debate, prototype, and collectively “dream” concrete ideas for strengthening democratic participation. This methodology enables people to express their tacit knowledge, share diverse perspectives, and co-design novel mechanisms that enhance inclusion, dialogue, transparency, and citizen empowerment. Democracy Labs are implemented across several European countries and provide a flexible, adaptable model for rethinking how democratic systems can evolve to meet today’s complex social and environmental challenges.