Enabling democracy to better tackle sustainable development requires changes to many aspects of our democratic practice and political systems (see The Challenge).
To more easily consider the innovations required, we are currently working on five themes:
- Participation and accountability to improve decisions, implementation, justice and legitimacy.
- Political institutions and policy-making that incorporate sustainable development goals and the long-term, integrate decision-making, and appropriately value options, risk and uncertainty.
- Constitutions, rights and law embedding long-term, nature, future generations and sustainable development principles.
- Promoting culture, values and awareness that create supportive norms, understanding and collaboration.
- The roles of civil society and business in adapting and innovating democracy to address sustainable development.
Latest News & Comment
Celebrate St David’s Day with FDSD’s Spring Newsletter
This newsletter is the second in a series exploring how sustainable development, future generations and wellbeing are being incorporated into democracy and public policy around the UK.
Wales—A Well-Being Nation
In this article, Derek Walker, Future Generations Commissioner of Wales, sets out his Office’s new seven year strategy, arguing that the WfG Act has to now “work harder and faster”, even though, at the same time as public finances, including his own office, are under severe pressure.
FDSD Newsletter, Autumn 2023
From national to local level, Scotland is rethinking how its policy, and participation practices, can better reflect sustainable development, wellbeing, and the needs of future generations. This FDSD newsletter showcases some of the activities that are happening, or are being considered.
Deepening Democracy for the Long Term | By Graham Smith
The public’s perspectives on future generations are highly structured by the context in which they are articulated. A long-term perspective is rarely taken by people when they make immediate and everyday decisions – with the exception of those motivated by ‘lifetime-transcending interests’.
Deliberative democracy and the just transition: from one-off activities to embedded participation | Winter Newsletter, 2022
FDSD has been quiet during COVID, but not inactive. We have been rethinking how we can best contribute to the profound challenges facing democracies today.
Democratic infrastructure: turning one-off deliberations into resilient democracies
Isolated deliberations cannot sustain resilient democracies. While they enable a momentary reinvention, improvement, or extension, they do not, inherently, enable the creation of continuous, strategic, and future capacities for strengthening and reimagining democracy.
