Purpose: consider which democratic capabilities are important in your context

DCF focus: capabilities

Suggested participants: policymakers, members of the community and civil society organisations, practitioners

Resources: materials for note-taking, the 11 INSPIRE Democratic Capabilities

Through individual reflection and group discussion, this activity provides a starting point to

think about the democratic capabilities that are important in your own context or community. Using the 11 INSPIRE Democratic Capabilities below, guide questions act as prompts for

reflecting on existing resources, priorities and potential action points.

Planning

„ This activity can be used in the planning or proposal stage of a participatory process, or as

part of policymaking that affects the development of democratic capabilities across society

„ This activity can be used by policymakers, public officials, community organisations or representatives, and practitioners. They should have grounded knowledge and/or be embedded

within the relevant institutional and/or community contexts.

„ The table offers a starting point for discussion. More detail on each capability can be found

in Section 4 of the DCF.

„ This activity works best in small groups to facilitate dialogue.

„ This activity is designed to be straightforward and versatile; adapt questions as needed.

Activity

1. Share the 11 INSPIRE Democratic Capabilities provided below with the group, and give time to read, and discuss meanings and interpretations. In some contexts, to build shared understanding, groups could come up with a metaphor for each capability (e.g. ‘Epistemic Justice is a microphone,’ ‘Intersectional Solidarity is a woven basket’).

2. Using these capabilities as a starting point, consider their relevance within your own context and role. The following questions can guide the conversation:

„ Which of these DCs are most relevant in this group/community/organisation/institution/country? Why?

„ What is missing from this set of DCs that is particularly important in our context? How could we formulate them to create our own set?

„ How does our group currently support the development of democratic capabilities? What kinds of things do we already do well? What kind of things should we do better?

„ What resources would be necessary to strengthen democratic capabilities in our context?

„ Who should be responsible for advancing the development of these capabilities? What actions can we take after this session? What is our timeline, and how will we hold each other accountable? A variation on this activity could make it more visual. For example, participants could place the capabilities on a large sheet or sticky wall in a sort of ‘constellation’ layout – closer to the centre if very relevant to them, at the edges if less relevant. This creates a visual map of priorities for the group. They could have a ‘missing stars’ corner where groups place notes describing additional capabilities needed in their specific situation. That could then form the basis for developing a new constellation that better reflects their context.