Project EmPaci has been started

The low population density in the Baltic region makes it difficult for municipalities to involve their citizens in municipal projects and discussions on relevant issues. Instruments are needed to enable people to participate in community decisions. A new international project under the direction of the University of Rostock (Prof. Dr. Lorson) is dedicated to this topic. The project "Empowering Participatory Budgeting in the Baltic Sea Region" (EmPaci) aims to promote participatory budgeting in the Baltic region. The project is funded with 1.5 million euros over three years within the framework of the EU programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region. In the case of participatory budgets, citizens are involved in the preparation and adoption of a municipal budget in a process of democratic decision-making. From the Business Informatics Group, Jun.-Prof. Dr. Michael Fellmann is involved in this project with regard to IT support. The concrete task is the development of best practices and architectures for IT tools to support participatory budgeting.