Changes at "Policy Assembly on Affordable Housing"
Description (English)
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INTRODUCTION
This Assembly represents a milestone in the collaborative spirit established between MultiPoD and IDEAL, two sister projects funded by Horizon Europe dedicated to advancing deliberative democracy. Building on the success of previous joint workshops, both projects have aligned their expertise to co-organise this high-level event. By presenting deliberative approaches and innovative democratic interaction technologies, this joint initiative aims to offer policymakers a unified experience that bridges the gap between citizen-led vision and evidence-based policymaking.
THE HOUSING CRISIS
Europe is currently navigating a profound housing crisis. While the EU institutions refine the frameworks for green and digital transitions, a fundamental factor of social cohesion - access to affordable housing- is being strained to a structural breaking point. This is not merely a market misalignment. As the situation worsens, it is becoming a crisis that threatens the legitimacy of the European social contract.
The MultiPoD and IDEAL projects, funded under the Horizon Europe programme, are born from the conviction that challenges of this magnitude cannot be solved through unidirectional, technocratic governance. The complexity of housing requires an architecture of “active listening” capable of integrating the lived experiences of citizens with the executive capacity of the legislators.
This Policymakers Assembly is not a conventional conference. It is a strategic convergence space designed to facilitate rich dialogue in which citizen-generated recommendations to address the housing crisis are examined alongside the practicalities of governance, fostering a shared sense of ownership and identifying a clear pathway towards building solutions.
KEY LINKS - Everything you need in one place
📚 Knowledge Base: Acces to the knowledge base and discover all the learning materials
📝 Policy Recommendations: Read the recommendations made during the citizen assembly.
ASSEMBLY STRUCTURE AND METHODOLOGY
The assembly follows a structured sequence designed to transition from deliberative theory to technological practice:
First Part: MultiPoD: The Interaction Scenario
MultiPoD will lead the policymakers' panel discussion, featuring a practical showcase of the MultiPoD deliberative tools in action, followed by a hands-on activity and an open discussion where policymakers can directly test the instruments and engage with citizen-generated content. Decidim will serve as the central hub for the asynchronous phase, hosting participant questionnaires, expert videos, and background materials, and managing the final voting process.
I. Real-Time Reflection: Working with MultiPoD’s DemocraticReflection.cloud, participants will use digital flashcards to provide instantaneous feedback - marking agreement, scepticism, or interest - while policymakers speak.
II. Multilingual Engagement: While the panel is conducted in English, MultiPoD technologies will enable citizens across Europe to participate in their mother tongues.
III. Synthesis and Awareness: The assembly concludes with a moderated reflection phase. The moderator distils collective reaction patterns. This allows for:
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Identifying "silent voices" and minority viewpoints through captured feedback.
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Addressing critical questions generated automatically from audience engagement data.
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Visualising alignment and divergence to ground the final open discussion in evidence.
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The success of European democracy will be measured by the quality of the conversations we can sustain. We invite policymakers to join this assembly as "early testers" of a groundbreaking new deliberative infrastructure. In return for their vision, participants will receive privileged access to vanguard tools and a curated report of citizen proposals.
In an era of rapid complexity, the most resilient policy is one that restores agency to citizens and trust in institutions. This is the foundational aim of the MultiPoD and IDEAL projects, as we work to build the deliberative infrastructure for a more responsive and inclusive Europe.
The analytics capabilities of the MultiPod Visual Analytics Dashboard (see Figure 3) will support the moderators before, during and after the assembly. It will capture both the public debate on third-party channels and the transcripts of interactions within the assembly.
Multicultural and multilingual e-democracy at work: A multistakeholder debate on Housing Affordability in Europe
KEY LINKS - Everything you need in one place
📚 Knowledge Base: Acces to the knowledge base and discover all the learning materials
📝 Policy Recommendations: Read the recommendations made during the citizen assembly.
1. A timely conversation on Europe's Affordable Housing Act
Housing affordability has become one of Europe's defining social, economic and political challenges. Across the continent, rising housing costs, limited supply and growing inequalities are affecting citizens, cities and regions alike.
Taking place shortly after the European Commission's anticipated presentation of the Affordable Housing Act, this two- hour deliberative forum brings citizens directly into conversation with the policymakers and practitioners shaping Europe's response. The event is organised by the MultiPoD and IDEAL projects, funded by the European Union's Horizon Europe programme, with the discussion open in every participant's own language.
22 Sep 2026 | 11- 13h CEST | Online | Multilingual
2. From citizens' recommendations to European policy - MultiPoD
The first part of the event builds on MultiPoD's pan- European Citizens' Assembly on affordable housing, which brought together citizens from across Europe to deliberate and co- design policy recommendations on housing. On 22 September, citizens will come together again with key European policymakers, public servants, civil society and housing experts to discuss the priorities they identified and explore how European, national, regional and local action can respond.
Experience collective intelligence in action!
Participants will use MultiPoD innovative deliberation tools including the Decidim platform, webylzard Analytics Dashboard and Democratic Reflection, to share live feedback and capture audience sentiment as the session unfolds.
Five Priorities from the Citizens' Assembly
Bring vacant buildings back into use: Convert unused public and private buildings into affordable and social housing through incentives and partnerships.
Diversify housing models, strengthen rent protections: Support housing cooperatives, community land trusts, non- profit housing and fairer rental systems.
Link housing with social inclusion: Integrate housing policy with health, employment and social support while promoting mixed communities and co- housing.
Expand the supply of social housing: Unlock public and underused properties to increase affordable housing and support urban renewal.
Reinvest tourism revenues in local communities: Use tourism levies to finance affordable housing, public transport and local infrastructure.
3. Multilingual Deliberation Requirements and Tools - IDEAL
In the second part of the event, led by the IDEAL project, the housing crisis will serve as a case study for a broader question: how can open, multilingual citizen deliberation be translated into policy? Building on insights from the first round of pilot testing of IDEAL's innovative multilingual platform and mobile app, policymakers and practitioners are invited to consider how CivicTech can be more effectively embedded into everyday governance processes.
Connecting Civic Tech with Policymaker Needs: Bringing decision- makers together to generate concrete insights on how civic technology can better serve them.
Defining Platform Requirements: Exploring exactly what outputs decision- makers need from deliberation platforms to be effective.
Producing Tangible Outputs: Turning active discussion into a formal policy brief and actionable next steps.
Bridging the Gap: Helping policymakers better understand societal precarity and connect with vulnerable groups to address their needs.
4. Agenda
Part I Policy Assembly on Affordable Housing
11:00–11:05 | Opening and welcome
11:05–11:35 | Panel debate: Bridging European and local housing policy
Lars Svensmark, The Housing Task Force (DG ENER, European Commission) - presenting the Affordable Housing Act
Michaela, Director of the Brussels Office (City of Vienna)
Anne Andersson, Managing Director (Stockholm Region EU Office)
11:35–11:45 | Open floor: voices and solutions
11:45–12:00 | Decoding the debate: real- time data insights & next steps
Part II Multilingual Deliberation Requirements and Tools
12:00–12:10 | From Design to Deployment: IDEAL and innovative policymaking
12:10–12:50 | Deliberation in Action: from individual needs to shared perspectives
12:50–13:00 | The Final Word: Understanding what matters
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