INTERFACED

Objectives

The INTERFACED project aims to explore how people have participated in politics since the COVID-19 pandemic, a period marked by declining trust in democracy and science, as well as increasing social divisions and inequalities. The project’s main goal is to understand the different ways citizens interact with political institutions and to see how well these interactions allow for genuine citizen participation in decision-making and governance.

The project will employ a combination of research methods, including large-scale surveys, experiments, data analysis, and field research, to achieve a comprehensive understanding of political participation. The study will focus on eight European countries and Tunisia, providing a diverse range of political contexts, some of which involve active opposition to authoritarianism.

By studying how citizens and governments interact, INTERFACED intends to improve democratic systems and encourage more people, especially those who are less engaged or more disadvantaged, to get involved in politics. The project will also offer practical policy recommendations to make political systems more inclusive, reduce barriers to participation, and ensure that democracies work for everyone.

The project consortium is led by the City University of London, UK and includes, in addition to ECAS, the following partners:

• Edgeryders OU (Estonia)
• Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain)
• Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai (Romania)
• HUN-REN Társadalomtudományi (Hungary)
• Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy)
• Københavns Universitet (Denmark)
• Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitaet Frankfurt am main (Germany)
•  Dublin City University (Ireland)
•  JFRC FONDATION JASMIN LTD (UK)

• Lead the project communication, raise awareness and generate discussions on project findings among the public, academia, policymakers, and journalists.
• Identify key contacts for policymakers, journalists, students, NGOs, and other relevant audiences in Europe.
• Hold 9-10 meetings, including consortium and stakeholder gatherings, policy labs, and a European Parliament workshop.
• Organise a final conference in Brussels with policymakers, stakeholders, and project partners.
• To ensure continued awareness, distribute project materials (research findings, press releases, etc.) beyond the project’s timeframe.