Local Citizens’ Assemblies: A Passing Trend or Here to Stay?

Citizens’ assemblies have become increasingly popular in the Netherlands in recent years. Municipalities are involving residents in important societal issues by randomly selecting participants and inviting them to help shape policy recommendations. But are citizens’ assemblies becoming a permanent feature of local democracy, or is the initial enthusiasm already fading? An analysis by the Public Governance Research Group at The Hague University of Applied Sciences reveals that more citizens’ assemblies have been organised than originally planned, although their long-term future remains uncertain.

Over the past four years, 57 citizens’ assemblies have been organised across the Netherlands by 48 different municipalities, provinces and regions. These assemblies bring together randomly selected residents to discuss societal challenges and jointly formulate recommendations for policymakers.

Their growing popularity raises an important question: have citizens’ assemblies secured a lasting place in local democracy?

To explore this, student researcher Isa Huizinga from the Public Governance Research Group compared the coalition agreements of the Netherlands’ 32 largest municipalities for the periods 2022–2026 and 2026–2030.

The findings reveal an interesting development: municipalities organised more citizens’ assemblies than their original political commitments suggested. At the same time, fewer municipalities have explicitly committed to organising new assemblies in their latest coalition agreements.

More citizens’ assemblies than originally planned

In 2022, 9 of the 32 municipalities examined had included a concrete commitment to organise a citizens’ assembly in their coalition agreements. Another 7 municipalities mentioned citizens’ assemblies as a potential innovative form of public participation.

In practice, their use proved more widespread. Between 2022 and 2026, a total of 22 citizens’ assemblies were organised across 17 of the municipalities studied. Remarkably, 9 of these municipalities had not included a concrete commitment to organise one in their original coalition agreements.

Of the 9 municipalities that had explicitly committed to organising a citizens’ assembly in 2022, 8 successfully followed through on their plans.

These findings demonstrate that citizens’ assemblies have developed beyond initial political commitments. Municipalities have been willing to adopt this form of public participation even when it was not explicitly included in their coalition agreements.

Fewer concrete plans for the next four years

Although citizens’ assemblies have gained ground in recent years, it remains uncertain whether this development will continue.

In the new coalition agreements for 2026–2030, 7 municipalities have expressed a concrete intention to organise a citizens’ assembly: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Groningen, Nijmegen, Haarlem and ’s-Hertogenbosch. This is two fewer than in 2022.

The number of municipalities mentioning citizens’ assemblies as a possible or innovative form of public participation has also declined. While 7 municipalities referred to this possibility in 2022, only one does so in 2026.

However, this decline does not necessarily indicate waning interest. It may instead suggest that municipalities are becoming more selective about when and how they use citizens’ assemblies. Rather than treating them primarily as an innovative experiment, local governments may now be making more deliberate decisions about their practical application.

Previous experience does not guarantee future assemblies

Interestingly, municipalities that have already organised a citizens’ assembly are not necessarily committing to doing so again.

Of the 17 municipalities that organised a citizens’ assembly between 2022 and 2026, only 6 have included a renewed commitment in their latest coalition agreements: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Groningen, Nijmegen, Haarlem and ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Other municipalities, including Arnhem, Zoetermeer, Leiden and Maastricht, have not included citizens’ assemblies in their new agreements, despite having organised them during the previous term. Of the 9 municipalities that made a concrete commitment in 2022, 5 have renewed that commitment in 2026.

The reasons behind these decisions cannot be determined from the coalition agreements alone. Some municipalities may lack sufficient political support for another assembly. Others may now regard citizens’ assemblies as an established participation method that no longer requires explicit mention in their political plans.

The absence of a commitment in a coalition agreement therefore does not necessarily mean that a municipality has abandoned the idea.

Different ambitions among the Netherlands’ four largest cities

The picture is equally mixed among the Netherlands’ four largest municipalities, collectively known as the G4.

Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht all organised one or more citizens’ assemblies between 2022 and 2026. However, their plans for the coming years differ.

Amsterdam and Rotterdam have explicitly committed to continuing their use of citizens’ assemblies. Amsterdam intends to organise an assembly in the Zuidoost district and has also proposed a citywide assembly focusing on the cooperative city. Rotterdam has expressed its intention to build on its previous experience, although no specific topic has yet been identified.

In contrast, citizens’ assemblies are not mentioned in the new coalition agreements of The Hague and Utrecht. Nevertheless, discussions about a potential future assembly are already taking place in Utrecht.

These differences highlight an important finding: political commitments on paper do not always provide a complete picture of how municipalities intend to involve residents in democratic decision-making.

From democratic experiment to permanent practice?

The analysis suggests that citizens’ assemblies are more than a passing trend. Over the past four years, they have been organised more frequently than the original coalition agreements suggested, establishing themselves as a recognisable form of public participation.

At the same time, it is too early to conclude that citizens’ assemblies have become a permanent feature of local governance. Fewer municipalities have made explicit commitments for the coming years, and previous experience does not automatically lead to another assembly.

The next four years will therefore be decisive. Will municipalities continue to use citizens’ assemblies to give residents a meaningful voice in decision-making? Or will they remain a participation method reserved for specific issues and circumstances?

One thing is clear: citizens’ assemblies have secured a place on the political agenda. The coming years will reveal whether they can also establish a lasting role in local democracy.

By Isa Huizinga, student researcher at the Public Governance Research Group, The Hague University of Applied Sciences.