Understanding participation: ITAS launches new website

Getting around in the city, living together, protecting the environment – researchers are increasingly drawing on the expertise of citizens to address such issues. The new PaFo project examines the impact of this form of participation.
Neue Website PaFo
Understanding participation, researching impact: The new PaFo website

“Anyone who takes citizen participation seriously must systematically research its impact,” states the PaFo project team at ITAS. The website www.wirkungsmessung.info, aims to improve the understanding of the interplay between research and participation.

The ITAS project combines and shares scientific principles, methodological tools, and practical examples for measuring the impact of participatory processes.

Interactive impact matrix

The platform shows how participation not only influences results but also shapes research processes, discourses, and institutional decisions. The core feature is the interactive PaFo impact matrix, which demonstrates where participation has epistemic, political, social, or discursive effects.

In addition to theoretical principles, the website offers insights into real citizen dialogues, provides materials as well as data schemas. It is aimed at researchers, science managers, and funding organizations alike.

Impetus for transdisciplinary research

The PaFo team expects the launch to provide important impetus for greater transparency, reflection, and quality in transdisciplinary research. The platform is intended to enable the strategic use of input from citizen dialogue events and to strengthen participation as a central component of modern research. (08.02.2026)

Further links: