Periodic Reporting for period 2 - EnTrust (Enlightened trust: An examination of trust and distrust in governance – conditions, effects and remedies)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-02-01 do 2022-07-31
EnTrust’s main goals are to deepen our understanding of the dynamics of trust and distrust in governance, and to help establish a starting point for citizens and governance actors to improve trust relations. Based on this twofold ambition, our project has five core objectives: 1.) to develop an interdisciplinary and multidimensional theoretical framework on the dynamic relationship between trust and distrust in democratic governance in the European context; 2.) to present a comprehensive dataset that measures trust and distrust in governance at various levels (individual citizens, organisations, the mass media and the public sphere(s)) and with regard to different governance actors (political governance actors, economic and financial governance actors, experts and scientists); 3.) to map and compare different cultures of trust and distrust and their development and interlinkages over time in different European countries and at EU-level; 4.) to identify and elaborate best practice models of promoting trust and responding to distrust and present evidence-based, practice-oriented recommendations for policymakers, public authorities, civil society actors and other stakeholders, and 5.) to proactively promote the uptake of the project’s outcomes, increase the knowledge of various actors, and help citizens and governance actors to foster a well-functioning democracy.
Under WP2, EnTrust researchers prepared and completed empirical fieldwork to study trust and distrust at the street-level of public policy. Across seven European countries, we conducted and analysed qualitative semi-structured interviews with frontline workers of social welfare administrations and citizens who are clients of these public administrations. Based on this empirical material, research teams started to draft country reports that will deliver cross-country comparative data about levels, forms and conditions of trust and distrust at the stage of public policy implementation at the local level and in direct interaction between frontline workers and citizens.
In addition, research teams prepared WP3 devoted to the role and relevance of new democratic social movements in creating and re-producing trust and distrust in political institutions and scientific expertise among active citizens. In particular, we worked towards the identification of new democratic social movements to be selected for focus group discussions with core members and movement followers, drafted the guidelines for focus group discussions, conducted pre-test interviews and engaged in training activities.
As a cross-cutting activity, EnTrust engaged in dissemination, communication and exploitation activities. For this purpose, it made use of the project’s website www.entrust-project.eu and its Twitter account “EnTrust Project” and the Facebook page “EnTrust project”. We published our first European Policy Brief and organised two online events with experts and stakeholders. In June 2020, we officially launched the project with a high-profile European policy dialogue entitled “Trust and distrust in governance: What is at stake?” (hosted by Katarina Barley, Vice President of the European Parliament). In November 2020, we organised a policy learning roundtable with parallel workshops entitled “Trust & Distrust in Governance: The Role of Media, Science and Civil Society”. In addition, EnTrust members participated in other discussion and dialogue events to which we had been invited.
EnTrust is geared to generate important insights about trends and developments, determining factors and potential consequences of trust and distrust in governance in order to detect risks and opportunities for democratic governance, and will elucidate the dynamics and mechanisms at work when the relationship between trust and distrust takes a substantial turn. Our ambition is to identify and develop best practices and role models of trust building and dealing with distrust and to deliver evidence-based policy recommendations and guidelines that enable societal and governance actors to improve existing initiatives and remedial actions. By conducting research on the trustworthiness of science and expertise within public opinion, organised civil society and the public sphere, EnTrust will also help restore and improve public confidence in the scientific community and in expert knowledge.