Institute for Research and Debate on Governance

Welcome to the Temporary IRG Website

The IRG is working on democratic governance in the service of environmental and social transitions

Knowledge in the service of action

Strengthening and sustaining concrete initiatives and contributing to public debate

Photo: CIAT
Democratic governance in the service of Transition

Co-constructing responsible and sustainable regulations through the involvement of various stakeholders

Photo: Stephan Röhl
Commitment to Environmental and Social Transition

Strengthening collective action in the service of humankind and well-being, both today and tomorrow

Photo: Thomas Rousing

Activities

IRG NEWS

          OECD Forum 2018 Friend        

          National Meetings on Empowerment (Pouvoir d'agir)        

          25 priority measures adopted during the Villarceaux Meeting        

          Audition of presidential candidates        

          Conference « What type of entrepreneurial policy for international solidarity ? »        

          A new department of environmental dialogue and citizen participation        

          Territorial committee meetings for the Loire Nature and Touraine region and the Châteaux region        

          First meeting of the Democratic Innovation Houses (MID) to be held on February 22nd, from 2PM to 5:30PM at the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation (FPH)        

          IRG’s Administrative Board met on December 1st        

          World Summit Partnership for an Open Government        

          3rd edition of RESOLIS and its Encounters for a Science of Action on the Ground        

          International capitalisation seminar of the CFSI project « Alternative forms of cooperation between actors of change »        

          Meeting of the Advisory Board of IRG on December 1st 2016 at the FPH headquarters        

          Democracy and Transitions : meeting of the first circle of the co-founders of the Houses of Democratic Innovation        

          3rd edition of RESOLIS and its Encounters for a science of action on the ground        

          Six student workshops for collecting practical experiences in the field of transition        

          International capitalisation seminar of the project « Alternative forms of cooperation between actors of change »        

          Diagnoses on the governance of territorial food systems        

          Steering committee of the « GouTer » project (Carasso Foundation-IUFN-IRG-RUAF)        

VIDEOS AND INTERVIEWS

          The experience of the collegiate citizen municipality of Saillans (France)        

          Commons - New forms of governance for transition - interview with Frederic Sultan        

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

          Conference “New powers, new leaders. The power of love rather than the love of power.”        

          CITEGO-RTES        

          Odas        

          Registration is open for the colloquium GIS Democracy and Participation        

          Call for candidates for the citizen mobilization accelerator        

          3rd edition of RESOLIS and its Encounters for a Science of Action on the Ground        

          Seminar « Alternative forms of cooperation between actors of change »        

          First incubator of democratic innovations in France        

          Debate at Confrontations Europe on the role and place of health insurance in national solidarity        

          Conference « Towards a collaborative, fair and participatory economy : the role and place of cooperative platforms        

          Call for contributions to GIS Democracy and participation        

          Forum of Civic Tech « Geeks to save politics ? »        

          Stimulating democracy in society and in organisations : from representation to participation        

          Colloquium « Towards a republic of common goods ? »        

          New book « Overthrow by citizens : initiatives that reinvent democracy »        

TWITTER FEED

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Latest Blog Posts

27/03/2018

The FabDem, for democratic renewal

04/09/2017

Accompanying popular and effective sovereignty

04/04/2017

What citizens expect from Europe

Student Reports

Municipalism: from citizen emancipation to shared political power

Note conceptuelle Read more

Photo: Michael Hicks

Democratic Governance to Transform a Deadlocked System

Photo: Michael Hicks

The global economic system, based on the myth of infinite growth and concentration of profits, depletes the earth's resources, increases inequality and repeatedly fuels political and social crises.
Faced with these challenges, current political governance arrangements do not meet the citizens' expectations and needs. They also fail to regulate social and economic interactions towards sustainable development.
Within the margins of the dominant system, a growing number of stakeholders are launching innovative and meaningful initiatives from the local to the global level. These stakeholders are demonstrating their commitment to human-centered development guided by the respect for fundamental rights, social responsibility, social justice and conservation of the environment.
Yet these initiatives fail to reorient the dominant model systemically. This raises the urgent need for drivers of real change. The objective is to create an enabling environment to connect these initiatives, decompartmentalise them and promote their development.
Democratic governance plays the role of an engine operating in order to meet this aim; it is intended to enable the orchestration of a Transition "ecosystem" where an alternative collective action to the current development model is molded. Models of societies conducive to sustainable development will be forged through the co-construction of inclusive, legitimate and responsible regulations.

The IRG's Commitment

Photo: Philippe Put

Created in 2006 at the initiative of the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for the Progress of Humankind, the IRG focuses on the issue of governance, that is to say, the way in which the regulations of society are being produced and implemented. It promotes democratic governance by supporting the emergence of multi-stakeholders regulations not only limited to public institutions.
In 2016, its main commitment to democratic governance is in the service of Environmental and Social Transition: governance based on citizen participation, encouraging creativity and social innovation to “do things differently”, and strengthening collective and individual responsibility with regards to the challenges of sustainable human development.
Convinced that strong collective actions are a prerequisite to ambitious social transformations, the IRG works with a wide range of stakeholders (citizens, civil society, government institutions, companies, universities / think tanks). It is through the interaction between all these players at local, national and international levels that new power relations can emerge in favour of just and lasting solutions.
More sustainable collective action and regulations are thus being founded on the momentum of the various transition paths (food, energy, social, political, etc.) that are being constructed each day.

Photo: Philippe Put

Photo: See-ming Lee

The IRG in action(s)

Photo: See-ming Lee

The aim of the IRG is to identify, analyse and enhance innovative initiatives of democratic governance towards Transition. It also seeks to transform practices through working with various stakeholders (from activists to institutions) and feeding public debate.
To carry out its mission, the IRG conducts research-action activities as well as capitalisation of experiences and training. Its analysis and proposals are anchored on specific cases and Transition exercises.
In 2016, In 2016, IRG has been particularly involved together with stakeholders in two processes: “agricultural and food transition” and transition toward an ever more inclusive solidarity.”
More broadly, IRG contributes to the cross-cutting analysis of how democratic governance can achieve and accelerate progress towards sustainable and inclusive development.