Engaging the Least Engaged: Good Practices for Inclusive Governance in Just Sustainability Transitions (DUST Horizon Europe): Handbook #3

This deliverable provides insights into practices for engaging communities that are vulnerable to and often excluded from decision-making in the context of sustainable transitions - particularly in regions historically reliant on fossil-based industries.

It addresses both strategic policy choices and practical participatory design decisions, highlighting how both levels must work in sequence to support genuine community involvement.

The emphasis is on procedures, methodologies and mechanisms that – directly or indirectly – facilitate engagement of communities in policymaking, where engagement is understood as a more advanced – dialogical - form of participation beyond voting, receiving information or launching a consultative period. The distinctive value of this report is in the attention paid to engaging the ‘least engaged’.

The deliverable targets both public institutions from national to local level as well as practitioners in NGOs and community organisations involved in shaping inclusive and just transition policies or projects for structural transformation and regional development. It intends to serve those seeking to leverage the added-value of engaging citizens and communities in policymaking but who may face strategic or operational difficulties.

Rather than offering a step-by-step guide on how to run a participatory process, the deliverable presents practical examples and actionable recommendations as sources of inspiration. These are grounded in three years of research under the DUST project and respond to commonly observed challenges to meaningful community participation.