Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development

We work in partnership to resolve the tensions between today’s liberal democracies and the challenges of creating a more environmentally sustainable and inclusive society, which enables wellbeing for all, now and in the future.

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A call to do politics differently

FDSD has long supported the wider use of participatory and deliberative processes. Citizens’ assemblies for example have a vital role to play in kick-starting the tough steps needed to respond to the climate emergency, but the detail of how they will work is critical.

Public Participation

Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA) launched

Climate Assemblies are increasingly being used in a variety of different European countries at different scales of governance to inform policy responses and social action on climate change. The European Climate Foundation has launched the Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies (KNOCA) as a ‘go to’ place for those seeking considered, rigorous and widely-sourced input on their design and implementation. FDSD’s own Professor Graham Smith has been appointed as the founding chair of the network. —Read more.

Economics is for Everyone!

The economy is an area of decision-making fiercely protected by experts and politicians from public participation. But public confidence in this closed policy community is waning and arguments for democratic participation in an area that so profoundly shapes all our lives are growing. Here, Graham Smith is reflecting on his work with the RSA Citizens’ Economic Council. —Read more.

Pickering and the flood that didn’t happen

Citizen participation and its critics—John Lotherington reflects on the ongoing debate about the impact of the community-led flood defences in Pickering after the town was spared the flooding that hit large parts of northern England in late-2015.—Read more.

Thinking systemically about deliberative democracy and climate change

Deliberative democracy is a collaborative and effective way to develop the concerted, ambitious and creative action needed to respond to climate change. Drawing on his experience in organising mini-publics in Canada, David Kahane notes, that in order to achieve these aims, deliberative approaches need to adopt the tools of system design and thinking to enable people to better understand complex problems and implement action through experimentation and learning. —Read more.

Giving tomorrow’s citizens a voice today

What we do today affects our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. These future generations will have to live with the environments, economies and societies that we leave them – and we have a shared responsibility to pass on something worth having.

Future Generations

Future Generations Commissioners: Learning Lessons from Wales

Peter Davies offers personal reflections on his role in the development of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales within the broader story of the journey of devolution—a journey that started with the duty to promote sustainable development in the initial Government of Wales Act. — Read more.

The Necessity and Powers of Future Generations Organisations

The imminent ecological crises and our consumer society’s lack of receptivity to this bad news mean that an independent, authentic voice is needed to represent the interests of future generations. Sándor Fülöp draws on his experience as Hungarian Ombudsman to explain the necessity and powers of a future generations organisation. — Read more.

Democratic Reform, Intergenerational Justice and the Challenges of the Long-Term

Philosophical essay by Simon Caney on the morality of prosperity, intertemporal politics and a re-imagination of our political life. — Read more.

What We’re Reading

#futuregen—Lessons from a Small Country | By Jane Davidson

In #futuregen, Jane Davidson explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she proposed what became the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 – the first piece of legislation in history to place regenerative and...

FDSD publications

Our People

The Foundation for Democracy and Sustainable Development is led by a group of trustees who are also directors of the company. The Chair of the board of trustees is Peter Davies.

The Challenge

At one level, the ideas and reality of sustainable development and democracy overlap and are interdependent. Common to both sustainable development and democracy is participation—the ability of all people to come together and be involved in decisions about how we live and the goals we want to achieve as societies. There are also tensions and differences between the two ideas which need to be resolved in order for current political democratic systems to adapt in the direction of achieving sustainable development.

News & Updates

Wales—A Well-Being Nation 

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

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

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’.