Associative freedom and citizen initiative. Observing, experimenting and democratising the relationship between associations and institutions – LAIC

Associative freedom is a central aspect of the democratic dynamic. However, it appears to be weakened today, due to the economic, social and institutional conditions for the deployment of associative activity that do not contribute to its role of intervention in the public debate. The LAIC project aims to document these difficulties in a systematic way - quantitatively and qualitatively, on a local, national and internationa scale - and to experiment with the public authorities solutions that would make institutions more favourable to the reception of citizens' claims. To do this, this project will consolidate a partnership of several years between a coalition of associative actors and social scientists. It will allow the production of new knowledge (valorised in the form of scientific publications and dissemination, colloquia, trainings, a website and an open data plateform), the strengthening of civil society's capacity for action, and the launch of innovative institutional experiences at the local level allowing the structuring of a democracy of interpellation.