Barcelona is the focus of a new postgraduate course on democratic innovation, after Barcelona Provincial Council, the University of Barcelona and the Official College of Political Science and Sociology of Catalonia (COLPIS) launched a programme on citizen participation, democratic deliberation and digital technologies.
The course, titled Postgraduate in citizen participation, democratic deliberation and digital technologies, will run from November 2026 to May 2027. It was presented at the UB’s Ramón y Cajal Hall and is described as Catalonia’s first 30 ECTS academic programme specialising in democratic innovation and institutional participation.
Academic accreditation comes from UB-IL3, with support from Barcelona Provincial Council. The programme builds on training that COLPIS has offered since 2023, and it will be taught in both in-person and remote formats by the UB’s Institute for Continuous Training, IL3.
The postgraduate course is aimed at professionals in public administration, specialised consultancies, the Third Sector and community organisations. Its content covers the theoretical foundations of democracy, public policies and citizen participation, digital innovation in deliberation, institutional design for participation, and tools and methods for promoting citizen and sectoral involvement.
Students will also work on how to design, plan and evaluate participation policies and deliberative processes. The course includes visits to the Parliament of Catalonia, Ca l’Alier and the Canòdrom, the Digital and Democratic Innovation Ateneu. For more on related local coverage, see our news tag page.
Marc Serra, Deputy for Citizen Participation at Barcelona Provincial Council, said the council is a “co-promoter and not just a mere collaborator” of the postgraduate course. He added that the most direct contact with democracy and citizen participation is found “in the local world”.
Barcelona Provincial Council has also announced 10 scholarships of €1,000 each, covering 40% of the tuition fee. They are available to staff from local governments in the province and to Barcelona Provincial Council employees. The council says the grants are intended to support training in citizen participation as a way to strengthen democratic quality in complex, diverse and changing societies.
