The MAIA and I-CHANGE projects have teamed up to explore how the knowledge and agency of citizens can play a pivotal role in the sustainable transition.

Key details

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Time: 10:00 – 11:30 AM CET

Location: Ambiorix Center & Podcast Studio, Square Ambiorix 7, 1000, Brussels

Event type: Hybrid. Live broadcast link here.

Organised by: MAIA and I-CHANGE projects

Registration: Required. Please register here.

Key messages

This event aims to explore how behavioural change and civil society knowledge can drive Europe’s sustainable transition.

With the need for radical change to mitigate and adapt to the consequences of climate change, the daily lives of European citizens will transform fundamentally. Because of this, the knowledge and agency of regular citizens plays a pivotal, yet undefined role in the transition.

Aim

By bridging the gap between research and policy, this policy roundtable will inform EU strategies with actionable insights, fostering citizen-focused policies aligned with the European Green Deal and Horizon Europe’s findings.

Based on experiences and ideas from Horizon Europe and beyond, the discussion expands the notion of behavioural change. In contrast to a historical approach of incentives and nudging in the instrumentalization of citizens, recent knowledge adds community-led action and interdisciplinary collaboration between stakeholders and citizens to the list of approaches.

Collaboratively, this roundtable takes a stab at breaking this gridlock of cooperation and outlining the next policy steps for a transition that has citizens at the centre.  

Relevance to the European Commission

Expanding the scope of what behavioural change is and isn’t —including its triggers, barriers, and levers — is critical to designing policies that empower citizens and communities to lead the sustainable transition. This roundtable contributes to the European Commission’s goals by:

• Promoting participatory governance and citizen science.
• Addressing challenges like knowledge accessibility, capacity-building, and equitable inclusion.
• Supporting community-led change as a cornerstone for systemic transformation.

Objectives

1. Showcase diverse approaches to operationalising behavioural change, including:
   • Incentive-based strategies.
   • Participatory governance and citizen science.
   • Social and cultural narratives for sustainability.
2. Identify barriers and opportunities for engaging citizens in sustainable practices and decision-making.
3. Strengthen collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to design citizen-centered pathways for change.
4. Deliver actionable recommendations for integrating citizen-driven approaches into EU policies.

Expected Outcomes

• Enhanced understanding of behavioural change’s role in the European sustainable transition.
• Concrete recommendations for embedding citizen-centred approaches into governance.
• Strengthened networks for collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners.

Target Audience

• Policymakers and representatives from European institutions.
• Researchers and academics specialising in behavioural science and sustainability.
• Civil society organisations and grassroots activists.
• Experts from Horizon Europe projects.