Lessons learnt or lessons missed? The citizens‘ assembly on climate in Stuttgart and reasons for evaluating participation processes beyond their conclusion

Citizens' assemblies have become more and more popular in participatory decision-making. However, even when they are implemented in an exemplary manner, it is often observed that the resulting recommendations are not immune to controversy and subsequent criticism and resistance. This can be attributed to the fact that participatory processes, operate under a different logic than the political system where the recommendations are further processed and that they do not deliberate in isolation from the broader political context. In 2023, the city of Stuttgart launched a citizens' assembly on climate as a pilot project in response to a citizens' petition. The goal was to strengthen citizen participation and direct democracy towards achieving a climate-neutral city. To encourage the regular use of citizens' assemblies and maximise their potential impact, the implementation aimed to ensure the integration of participatory approaches into the local political process. An external scientific evaluation provided insights and "lessons learnt" that helped to ensure the quality of deliberation and inclusiveness of the citizens' assembly. However, the post-assembly phase still presents challenges that need to be addressed: the integration of the assembly results into the municipals’ political operations must be taken into account. Shortening the observation period to the official end of the citizens' assemblies in itself makes it more difficult to analyse possible spillover effects of the assembly’s work on individual politicians and the media and thus on public opinion. This research therefore aims to shed light on these aspects and contribute to a critical examination of participatory processes and their improvement in order to address challenges in the utilisation of participatory processes at the municipal level. In short, this research will minimize the "lessons missed" by extending the observation period of participation processes when they are studied. By close examination of the case of the citizens' assembly on climate in Stuttgart, we seek to pin down, where and how the different arenas interact and where their different operational logics elicit irritations and interlocks. Understanding these hurdles for integration of participatory processes within the policy process helps to develop strategies for the effective use of assembly outcomes for policy-making. Beyond the scientific value, the findings could help municipalities to implement participatory processes that effectively contribute to the development of policies that are more responsive to the challenges of societal change.