Municipal development councils, unlike for example citizens' assembliesThe dialogue does not claim to be representative. Instead, representatives from politics and administration, civil society and business are invited to contribute the interests of their stakeholder groups. In this way, structural social conflicts of interest are explicitly invited to the Municipal Development Advisory Board: The various stakeholder groups follow different logics of action and sometimes have divergent goals that need to be negotiated. Municipal development councils create a space for this.

Municipal development councils are also characterised by cooperation between elected and non-elected members. In many participation formats, citizens initially consult "among themselves" and politicians are only the addressees of the results. In communal development councils, politicians (as well as administrative staff) are involved on an equal footing from the outset. In addition to the learning and communication process between different logics of action and interests, this cooperation increases the likelihood of the recommendations being implemented. Challenges in implementation can be recognised and addressed at an early stage and decision-makers have a deeper understanding of and greater identification with the recommendations made.

Municipal development councils require the explicit consent of local politicians. Participation formats can only be successful if the decision-makers are fundamentally interested in involving a larger number of perspectives. The city or municipal council must therefore formally authorise the implementation of a CDE.

Municipal development councils need a remit that is complex and controversial, but also workable. This means that the local authority must have the authority to make decisions on the chosen topic and that a local development advisory board must be able to exert influence.

The implementation of a Municipal Development Advisory Board requires intensive support. In addition to process support from the Berlin Governance Platform and local moderation, a responsible person in the municipal administration is also required as the coordinator of the Municipal Development Advisory Board. Sufficient financial resources are required for all of these roles.

Municipalities usually apply with a current and urgent topic to be dealt with by the Municipal Development Advisory Board. This is then concretised and developed by a local steering group. This is made up of six to eight representatives from politics, administration, business and civil society. Together, they clarify the exact issue and weigh up the potential influence of the advisory board.

At the beginning of the process, the Lord Mayor selects the topic for the Municipal Development Advisory Board and defines the possible scope for action. However, in order to enable an open-ended and independent discussion of the topic, the Lord Mayor is not a member of the advisory board.

The advisory board members are selected by a steering group, which is chosen and mandated by the administrative management from representatives of politics, administration, business and civil society. A stakeholder mapping process, which is supported by the Berlin Governance Platform team, forms the basis for this. The aim is to select around 30 committed individuals from different interest groups within the municipality. These should represent as many different perspectives on the topic as possible. In addition, some municipalities decide to give committed citizens the opportunity to apply for additional places on the advisory board.

At the end of the planning phase, the steering group is dissolved. Its members then have the opportunity to participate in the Municipal Development Advisory Board as councillors.

The Municipal Development Advisory Board brings together people with different backgrounds and previous experience. Social power asymmetries and structural discrimination are therefore initially reflected in the CDE, even without malice. Elected politicians are more accustomed to exchanging political opinions than citizens, while people with a non-German language of origin initially find it more difficult to get involved. Professional moderation can initially help to build trust through a variety of methods and then ensure equal participation for all.

As the Municipal Development Advisory Board explicitly invites divergent interests and positions, conflicts inevitably arise. These are often challenging, but can also act as a motor for change. To ensure that these conflicts are experienced as positive negotiations and can lead to a sustainable understanding, a moderator is needed who can draw on experience in conflict transformation, mediation or similar.

The recommendations developed are passed on to the municipal or city council, which discusses their implementation. As members of the municipal council have already participated in the Municipal Development Advisory Board, the transfer of these results is easier than with other external recommendations. Politicians as well as the administration, which plays a central role in implementation, were involved from the outset.

In the partner municipalities of the pilot project, the prospects for implementing the recommendations look very promising a few months after the conclusion of the Municipal Development Councils (February 2024). Several municipal councils have already passed resolutions to implement (parts of) the recommendations this year. In Hoyerswerda, a municipal implementation advisory board has also been set up to involve the various stakeholders in the implementation process. However, a long-term evaluation of the implementation is not yet possible at this stage.

In previous partner municipalities, the recommendations adopted by consensus were able to make a substantial contribution to the issues agreed in advance. At the same time, numerous responses from the advisory board members show how new connections and networks have been created, that the exchange has been experienced and that the advisory board members have been able to experience self-efficacy.

However, the Municipal Development Advisory Council will only become an effective force for strengthening a democratic culture of participation and for sustainable development if it does not remain a one-off project. The vision of the Berlin Governance Platform is to permanently anchor municipal development councils as a supplement to existing democratic institutions and committees in the municipalities. The composition and mandate of the development advisory board in a municipality should change regularly, but the format itself should remain a familiar and reliable structure. In this way, future issues that repeatedly arise can be "pre-negotiated" within a fixed framework, thereby supporting political bodies and helping to strengthen democracy.