Engaging Citizens with Mission Ocean and Waters

The Us: The Sea of Sounds pilot action, co-funded by PREP4BLUE, aimed to raise public awareness about underwater noise pollution and its impact on marine ecosystems, specifically cetaceans. Using virtual reality technology, the project offered participants an immersive experience of marine soundscapes in the Vestfjord (a prototype), enabling them to understand how noise pollution affects species like whales and dolphins. The project also included educational workshops, live listening stations, and large-format images to provide a comprehensive learning experience. The key objectives were to engage the public in marine conservation, foster understanding of noise pollution, and strengthen local community involvement.

The project used a selection of the PREP4BLUE tools, presented further in Pelegri et al. (2025). Their process was guided first by their clear ambitions to work towards Mission Ocean & Water citizen engagement target outcomes (Figure 9, adapted from Appendix 4).

The project development was informed by thoughtful reflection and adaptation of the guiding questions provided in Section 2.2 / 3.3 (Table 1 / Table 7) as presented in Table 13.

Careful planning of how the project would evaluate its outcomes in relation to Mission Ocean & Waters (Table 14, adapted from Table 11) resulted in both high levels of engagement and positive and measurable feedback from participants on the user experience of both the technology, and their increased awareness of the impact of underwater noise.

Excerpts taken from the PREP4BLUE Pilot Action Report produced by the Sea Synergy Marine Awareness, Research & Activity Centre, and republished here with permission.

This Pilot action funded by PREP4BLUE involved delivering a showcase of the key findings of the Sea Synergy Oyster Project (SSOP) to date and an engagement section through holding a public consultation with the community on their thoughts, hopes and concerns for future Ostrea edulis reef restoration in their channel and helped formulate what this action would look like in the future. Actions were taken with the aim to:

1) Increase the local community’s ocean literacy & connection to their coastline;

2) Increase in citizen science reporting of marine biodiversity;

3) Empowered coastal community to participate in local nature restoration plans.

SSOP utilised the ‘steps of participation’ diagnostic tool to think about what level and type of involvement they needed from different stakeholders and citizens for their project to be successful (Figure 10 adapted from Figure 3 / Figure 7). They also considered the Leave No One Behind principle, which resulted in a more diverse array of engagement opportunities across the project to engage minority groups and socially disadvantaged groups through collaboration with existing Tidy Towns (a well-known and popular community competition, driven by the Department of Rural and Community Development) & Fairseas initiatives (a coalition of Ireland’s leading environmental non-governmental organisations and environmental networks).

The project team also thought strategically about stakeholder engagement, both in terms of inviting participation and by way of informing the community of the results. They found novel channels and means of advertising, including championing from a local comedian and social media influencer, targeted invites through relevant instant messaging services and groups, and local newspaper coverage.

The project team thought further about the depth of their involvement, adapting Table 12 to assess the type of their engagement, revealing that they had active, and hopefully empowering involvement in the development, implementation and monitoring of their co-created restoration project (Table 15 below).

This project team found that early consideration of how they would evaluate their project (Table 16 below) meant that they collected useful and positive feedback from their participants about their involvement in the process, which informed later stages of the project.

Furthermore, they were able to map the outcomes onto Mission Ocean & Water objectives (Figure 1, using the template provided in Table 11). Pre and post event surveys found that the showcase events influenced the participants knowledge about local oysters, and an increased awareness (and enthusiasm) that connected people to a habitat that is often out of sight / beyond the reach of many people.

Excerpts taken from the PREP4BLUE Pilot Action Report produced by the Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI) and the Coastal Union Germany / H2Mare Project. www.art-innovation.org / project page https://universal-sea.org/prep-4-blue Republished here with permission.

The 'Sustainable Coastal Futures: An Interdisciplinary Workshop and Social Media Initiative on Green Energy and Citizen Participation' pilot action was launched in August 2024. The initiative aimed to engage citizens and stakeholders in co-creating future scenarios for sustainable ocean use and coastal management, with a focus on green coastal energy production, particularly offshore hydrogen. A key component of this project was fostering social inclusion and enhancing acceptance of green coastal energy solutions in the North and Baltic Sea regions.

This pilot action supported Mission Ocean & Water’s goals for 2030, emphasizing the restoration of marine ecosystems and the transition to a carbon-neutral blue economy.

Key objectives and goals were:

1. Foster social inclusion by involving citizens in co-designing future scenarios for ocean sustainability and green coastal energy.
2. Bridge communication and knowledge gaps between citizens, policymakers, industry, and academia, and creating actionable solutions for sustainable coastal development.
3. Explore new methods of engagement using arts-based engagement tools, such as future scenario planning and visualization, to inspire action and collaboration.

To maximise success, this arts-based project chose to focus heavily on their participant mapping, utilising and adapting the templates provided in Section 2.2 / 3.3 (earlier versions of Table 1 / Table 7). They adapted this table in Figure 11 to focus on 1) who the participants were, their roles, interest and power in the process; 2) what were each of their needs and motivations to take part in the participatory process; 3) the key messages they needed for each in their engagement strategy and 4) their potential contributions to the project.

Additionally, the Sustainable Coastal Future project considered the Leave No One Behind principle, and took the following measures to maximise involvement of individuals with limited access to decision-making forums (including youth and marginalized communities): targeted invitations through social media and local networks; inclusion of students and young participants in the workshop; simplified tools like mood boards and visual aids to ensure accessibility for non-experts, showed in Photo 3 below.

The Sustainable Coastal Futures project resulted in collaborative visualisations of a future coastal ecosystem that included both narrative and artistic elements to represent sustainable green hydrogen infrastructure coexisting alongside restored mangroves and oyster reefs (Figure 12 below). The project also considered how to work with the dimensions of ocean literacy, which you can read more about in Pelegrí et al. (2025).

A major part of the evolved concept of ocean literacy is grounded in two-way dialogue, bottom-up and participatory processes that start to give citizens more decision-making power. Ocean literacy has moved beyond delivering knowledge to school children, to instead acting as powerful conversation starters with a range of citizens to gain varying types of input – from gathering their feelings towards blue spaces for development or restoration, to informing private homeowners of their responsibility to handle drainage properly. Ocean literacy is an important two-way participatory approach, or even method, that can be used strategically by projects working towards Mission Ocean & Waters, particularly to meet their citizen engagement target outcomes.

More detail on how to use ocean literacy as a method for citizen engagement in Section 5.7. The proposed method uses the aforementioned dimensions of ocean literacy to both plan participatory processes with different citizen groups (Figure 8) and / or as a way of evaluating the impact of your project on society’s relationship with the ocean (Section 5.7). If you are considering using ocean literacy methods or approaches, this is a rapidly evolving field, with many toolboxes and research papers being released, with new ideas of how to improve our ways of working. New networks or assemblies are also being created, and you can consider the relevance for your project to engage with these networks – either as researchers or as practitioners. For example, networks around people linked to the sea through responsible sport activities, arts or activism (such as the EU Projects Blue Genes and Blue Mission AA), there are a specific groups for marine educators (e.g., the European Marine Science Educators Association), and there is a Global Ocean Literacy Research Community.

A big effort should be made in ensuring that you have a well classified repository of initiatives or activities depending on the target public, expertise and length. And that any resources and outputs are planned with ‘legacy impact’, in how and where they are stored and made available for other projects. Engaging with networks is one way to do this. The Future Seas 2030 project provides an excellent summary of resources, networks and guidance in the supplementary materials of their 2022 paper.⁷⁶

Some examples of the founding and high-level toolboxes are provided here:

• Ocean literacy for all: a toolkit IOC. Manuals and guides
• Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts of Ocean Sciences for Learners of All Ages
• Ocean Literacy Framework
• Ocean Literacy Scope & Sequence for Grades K-12

This example highlights the use of storytelling and scenario-based workshops to explore complex water management issues through local citizen engagement.

The Irish Ocean Literacy Network (IOLN) is the working name of an informal network established in 2016, aimed at bringing together individuals and organisations who are currently involved in, or would like to become involved in, working towards the IOLN vision, which is to achieve an Ocean Literate society across the Island of Ireland. Galway Atlantaquaria, National Aquarium of Ireland, is the current Secretariat of the IOLN, and in this role it acts as a central contact and dissemination point for the Network supporting initiatives and collaboration opportunities between the IOLN members and providing a platform for engagement with relevant stakeholders.

Since its inception, the IOLN has hosted many networking events, workshops, etc., including the ‘We are islanders’ national campaign. The Network has also become recognised internationally as an advocate of ocean literacy and is involved in large scale initiatives like the UNESCO Ocean Literacy With All, the EU4Ocean Platform, the EuroGOOS Ocean Literacy Working Group, and is part of both the All-Atlantic and the European Blue Schools Network. As part of these initiatives, in June 2022 the IOLN was one of the ten organisations to sign the Charter for Blue Education in Europe developed within the frame of the EU4Ocean Coalition and its Network of Blue schools, whereas in October 2022 the IOLN participated to the 2nd Ocean Literacy Dialogues event held in Brazil.

The IOLN is one of the ocean literacy networks involved in the Horizon Europe project PREP4BLUE with the aim to contribute to the project’s work focused on enabling stakeholders to empower citizen and community-led action in support of Mission Ocean & Waters. To facilitate this, the IOLN organises a yearly series of regional members meetings in the four provinces of the Island of Ireland, i. e. Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster, the aim of which is to give the Network members the opportunity to come together in person to exchange ideas and discuss future plans for common ocean literacy initiatives after the long break caused by Covid. The first of these meetings was held in Belfast in 2023, and it gave the attendees the opportunity to reflect on the value of the all-Island nature of the Network and to discuss how to best proceed in order to foster the establishment of new cross-border ocean literacy-focused collaborations. Also, the IOLN is supporting the first specific objective of the Mission ‘protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity’ via the establishment of a working group within the Network itself focused on key marine ecosystems under threat, like, for example, seagrass meadows and coastal dunes. The role of this working group will be to bring together the different community groups active across the Island on conservation projects focused on these special environments to promote dialogue among them and facilitate an exchange of information, resources and opportunities

The EU Horizon project EmpowerUs committed to deliver ocean literacy resources and activities across its case study communities. However, as the project strove for ‘Socio-economic Empowerment of coastal communities as users of the sea to ensure sustainable coastal development’, it utilised ocean literacy as a research tool and to improve participation, open dialogues and ultimately tested its efficacy as a mechanism towards empowerment. The co-development of resources and activities was informed by researchers studying participatory processes to reveal potential transitioning needs for coastal communities facing changes. The methods followed were similar as those outlined in Section 5.7 and will be soon available on the project website⁷⁷ and related publications⁷⁸. In summary, some of the processes involved:

Co-creation of treasure hunts which developed into cultural ‘story’ trails to explore island residents’ connection with the coast and sea. These in turn were adopted by national NGO and became illustrated hiking trails, raising the profile of island-sea connection.

Household leaflet campaigns providing positive narratives and knowledge about surrounding coasts, signposting funding opportunities and offering dialogues with homeowners about creating their own marine spatial plans around their coastal residencies.

Workshops to understand marine identities in connection to coastal developments.

Food sovereignty workshops, participatory / community voice videos and exhibitions to involve locals and foreign residents in local marine protected area dialogues.

Co-creation of ‘women making waves’ campaign, showcasing how local women were empowered by the sea; which will be developed into children’s activity booklets and disseminated across the 6 local communities.

The project also worked with the wider Ocean Literacy Research Community to develop an international survey instrument, The Ocean & Society Survey, to assess the ten dimensions of ocean literacy, at local and national scales. This tool is now available to help inform your project development, or for you to use one or all questions from in your local context⁷⁹,⁸⁰. The data will also be made freely and publicly available in 2025.

The table serves as a diagnostic tool to evaluate how fishers are involved and at what level of responsibility. The more stages and levels of participation covered, the deeper the inclusion.

In practice:

• Data collection: RF fishers collect valuable biological data used in national and international assessments. However, their role is limited—they follow predefined protocols and do not influence what or how data is collected. Their contribution is akin to that of a technician, with minimal decision-making power.
• Assessment: Fishers are not involved in this stage. It remains a closed, expert-driven process carried out by scientists from institutions like the IMR.
• Advice: The RF does not involve fishers in producing management advice. This remains the responsibility of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

Although the RF may seem modest compared to its ambitious framing, it marks a meaningful shift in a system where fishers were previously excluded from knowledge production. It reflects incremental but significant progress, particularly from the perspective of the fishing community. To further strengthen fisher involvement, projects can use Table 17 to identify where and how participation could be deepened across more stages and with greater responsibility.

The European Solidarity Corps (ESC) is a European Commission (EC) initiative that provides opportunities for youth to contribute to a range of solidarity projects around Europe through voluntary action⁸¹. A range of topics are covered by ESC projects, including disaster risk reduction and preparedness, migrant community work, and nature protection⁸².

Organisations can register their project with the ESC portal and apply for funding. These projects may be short term (2 weeks to 2 months) or long-term (2 to 12 months). If successfully funded, projects are then matched with volunteers through the ESC portal.

Young people between 18 and 30 years old can register to be part of the pool of volunteers by creating a profile in the ESC portal, where they can find projects to join. An individual can only take part in a maximum of 12 months of total volunteering. Their travel and living costs are funded by the EU⁸³.

The ESC programme focuses on sustainable development, social inclusion, and equal opportunities, and one of their priority areas is “Environmental Protection, Sustainable development and Climate Action”⁸⁴. Examples of European Solidarity Corps-funded projects related to the marine and freshwater environments are:

• Make it Blue – European Solidarity Corps in Action
• MarSius Blanca
• Proyecto CETUS
• Save the Nature Save Our Future
• Ochrancovia riečnej krajiny
• Costa degli Dei Clean up
• ECO Superheroes – Keep Costa Tropical Clean
• EcoSmart

To get an overview of all the types of projects that the ESC is involved in, have a look at ongoing and completed projects here: https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/projects/

First of all, including the ESC in Mission-related activities is one of six expected outcomes in terms of citizen engagement that the Mission requires by 2025. It has also been reflected in multiple calls in the Horizon Europe Work Programmes for the Mission in 2021-2022, and 2023-2024. Engaging with the ESC, then, is a key way of aligning a project with Mission aims, and a funding application with call requirements.

By registering your organisation with the ESC programme, you will be able to apply for funding to develop your Mission Ocean & Waters initiative, and if accepted, get access to volunteers who are ready to contribute their skills and efforts around Europe. If you are not a local organisation, working with young locals through the ESC can also be a way to better connect and cooperate with local communities in which you want to work. Additionally, it is possible to apply to become a partner in an already existing project through the ESC portal. Given that the ESC programme is funded by the European Commission, projects that align with the EU Missions, including Mission Ocean & Waters, should be well oriented for support by the ESC.

Mission-funded projects may also find value in reaching out to ESC projects that are already up and running, or to volunteers/organisations from those that recently finished. Doing so can produce learnings and recommendations that will help in the design of future projects and help optimally align the ESC with the EU’s new Mission framework.

Whether you want to involve youth as volunteer facilitators in your citizen engagement activity, as helping hands in a restoration project, as citizen scientists, or as co-managers of a community led project, the ESC portal is a great resource for reaching them.

In order to apply for funding from the European Solidarity Corps and involve volunteers in your Mission project, read the European Solidarity Corps Guide and follow the 8 preparation steps listed on their website: https://youth.europa.eu/solidarity/organisations/before-you-apply_en.

Note: The European Commission also provides guidelines for beneficiaries of the European Solidarity Corps on how to communicate and promote their project achievements from the planning phase through the evaluation phase. The guide is open access, and provides useful communications tips, even for projects that are not funded by the ESC. The guidelines can be found here: https://youth.europa.eu/news/new-communication-guidelines-project-beneficiaries-released_en

This project illustrates place-based engagement through youth-led action, combining environmental education, local restauration, and citizen science within a marine conservation context (Start date: 01-06-2022 / End Date: 31-05-2023).

MarSÍus was a European Solidarity Corps project carried out by young locals with the support of Globers, youth organisation around Comarruga, in the south of Barcelona. This project was created to cultivate the sense of responsibility and love for the coastal ecosystem among the local community and the tourists that come to the area during summer. Due to the ecological importance of the area – home to Catalonia’s only marine reserve, called Masía Blanca – MarSÍus has been a project to raise awareness about the importance of protecting our coast and sea, involving different organisations and public institutions who have been working together with the Globers team to support participation, active citizenship, and grow community through marine protection projects.

Project Activities:

Together with the collaboration of Anellines and Goven 2.0, Onada Foundation, University of Barcelona and Globers, activities include:

• Diving to map the seafloor in search of Posidonia oceanica meadows
• Support to the study of marine micro plastics for the University of Barcelona
• Cleaning beaches of garbage and plastics
• Cleaning of dunes, taking off invasive plants and repopulating with native plants

Some key achievements of the project have been:

Improvements to the marine environment

The collection of knowledge concerning the local marine environment

The generation of significant engagement of the local community

The bonds created among different organizations that work for the protection of the sea and public institutions. 

About Globers: Globers is a youth organization that puts all their energy and love in giving opportunities to young people, mostly through Erasmus+ and ESC programs, and supports the local community with many different activities. Their mission is to inspire, educate and mobilize young people to raise their voices while creating real change through volunteering, non-formal education and active citizenship. For more information, you can contact: globers.paula@gmail.com

Websites:

• http://www.globers.net/
• www.facebook.com/globers.net
• www.instagram.com/we_are_globers
• https://www.youtube.com/c/Globers

To explore how CAs can support Mission Ocean & Waters and how a European-wide network might be established, we used an approach combining mapping, interviews, and literature analysis.

• Mapping existing networks and support structures

We first identified and mapped organisations that support, coordinate, or facilitate CA processes across Europe. This included organisations operating in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, and Belgium. Our mapping focused on understanding their role in setting up CAs, the scope of the assemblies, and how they connect to broader governance frameworks (Table 18).

• Interviews

We conducted semi-structured interviews with experienced CA practitioners and representatives from key organisations, including:

• KNOCA (Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies).
• Mehr Demokratie (Germany).
• Klimarat (Austria).
• Democracy X (Denmark).

These interviews provided rich insights into practical considerations, emerging best practices, and lessons learned from national and regional assemblies.

• Review of literature and emerging global initiatives

Our work also draws on relevant academic and grey literature, including evaluations of previous CAs. We paid particular attention to recent developments such as the Global Citizens’ Assembly on the Ocean, which held its inaugural meeting in Barcelona in April 2024. As part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, this initiative aims to engage citizens in over 100 countries ahead of the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference.

In addition to interviews and literature analysis, we also incorporated insights from the PREP4BLUE Citizen Engagement Webinar Series – Session 5 (“Best Practice Training for CA Facilitators”), held in March 2024. This session offered a practice-based perspective on how to support CA’s within Mission Ocean & Waters, drawing on experience from Lighthouse projects, facilitation experts, and Mission partners. Notably, the final 20 minutes of the webinar featured a lively panel discussion on challenges and solutions for building a European-wide CA network. These reflections provided timely, practitioner-led input that helped validate and refine our analysis of support structures, logistical considerations, and facilitation strategies. The full recording is publicly available via the PREP4BLUE YouTube Channel.

This methodological approach provided a foundation for analysing how a transnational CA network could be effectively designed, embedded in EU and Mission Ocean & Waters governance structures, and made operational for Phase 2 of Mission Ocean & Waters and beyond.

Citizens’ Assemblies derive their strength from structured, inclusive deliberation. They place authority in the hands of citizens, giving ordinary people an opportunity to influence complex policy decisions⁸⁵. Central to this process is dialogue—creating spaces where diverse perspectives are aired, respected, and reconciled. Deliberation leads not necessarily to full consensus but to broad consent: collective recommendations that participants support, even if not everyone agrees entirely⁸⁶. This approach ensures both legitimacy and collective buy-in for recommended actions⁸⁷.

Beyond their policy influence, CAs profoundly impact participants. As one interviewee explained:

CAs are particularly valuable for addressing complex, gridlocked’ issues—such as environmental or climate policy—where political institutions may struggle to act. By functioning as mini-publics, they bring together a microcosm of society, providing recommendations that reflect collective reasoning and lived experience. This process generates legitimacy, which in turn can catalyse political momentum⁸⁸.

Democratic infrastructure like KNOCA and other networks rest on the belief that democracy flourishes through participation. Strengthening dialogue across Europe not only improves decision-making but also reinforces social cohesion and trust. CAs help reinvigorate democratic engagement and can act as bridges between institutions and communities⁸⁹.

In the context of Mission Ocean & Waters, CAs could offer a dynamic, public-facing tool to mobilise citizen support, integrate and emphasise local knowledge, and ensure public perspectives help shape research and innovation priorities related to marine governance.

A network of Citizens’ Assemblies would provide a structured foundation to the Mission’s “Public Mobilisation and Engagement” Cross-Cutting Enabler. The ocean is a shared resource, deeply intertwined with our climate, economies, and daily lives. It sustains livelihoods, regulates weather patterns, and holds vast ecological and cultural significance. Yet, ocean governance often remains distant from those most affected by it. A coordinated CAs network could bridge this gap. It would give citizens from diverse backgrounds a structured, participatory pathway to shape ocean and water policies. It could do this while creating links between local aquatic issues and activities, national initiatives, Mission Ocean & Waters projects, and EC marine and water policy and governance bodies.

As governments work towards more effective sustainable ocean management, they are starting to realise a need for more local inclusion of a wide variety of citizens and contexts: from co-management measures, local action and / or support / buy-in. While EU frameworks set broad objectives, implementation varies by country and region. A European network of CAs would bring together national and local initiatives, creating pathways for citizen voices to influence decision-making at multiple levels. As the EC finalises the European Oceans Pact—a strategic initiative aiming to transform ocean governance—there is a clear opportunity to embed participatory mechanisms from the start. A network of CAs could contribute bottom-up insights and legitimacy to this process, reinforcing the Commission’s focus on people-centered governance.

At a practical level, this network could function as a distributed infrastructure, embedded or otherwise facilitated regionally by the Mission’s Lighthouse projects. It would serve not only as a conduit for citizen engagement but also as a platform for sharing best practices and engaging with shared issues across Member States. Assemblies at the basin or regional level could deliberate on topics relevant to their marine environment ranging from fisheries to marine protected areas—and feed into European-level synthesis processes.

This model would also allow for hybrid forms of participation. National or local CAs could nominate representatives to a transnational Mission Assembly. These delegates could be invited to the annual Mission Ocean & Waters Forum, which takes place each spring in Brussels, where they would consolidate and present recommendations while engaging directly with policymakers, researchers, and programme officers. Such a process would enhance vertical integration between local deliberations and EU policy cycles.

As demonstrated by recent examples—like Austria’s Climate Assembly or the Democratic Odyssey—well-designed CA structures can enable meaningful dialogue across political and cultural boundaries. By scaling these efforts through a Mission-aligned framework, the EU could create a flagship example of democratic innovation in ocean governance.

An EU-wide CA network could support bottom-up participation, connecting grassroots movements with higher-level decision-making.

While large-scale global CAs on ocean governance are still in their early stages, valuable lessons can be drawn from well-established local and national CAs. Experiences from countries such as Austria, France, Ireland, Germany and Denmark demonstrate how deliberative democracy can effectively shape climate and environmental policies. Like the ocean, the climate is a complex shared ‘resource’ of which every member of the public has a stake, and a right to an opinion. These national-level assemblies provide insights into structuring inclusive processes, engaging diverse stakeholders, and translating citizen recommendations into actionable policies.

The Global Citizens' Assembly on Marine Conservation, launched in April 2024 under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, represents an important step toward incorporating citizen voices in international ocean governance. Although still a new initiative, it signals growing recognition of the need for public participation in shaping major policy frameworks that will result from the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference in 2025.

An EU-wide CA network could build on these experiences, scaling up successful national approaches while ensuring that citizen deliberations feed into both European and international policy discussions. By fostering collaboration between national assemblies and connecting them to global efforts, Europe could lead the way in integrating citizen-driven insights into ocean governance at multiple levels.

The Democratic Odyssey offers a model for transnational deliberation, demonstrating how layered governance — from national to EU level — can enhance the legitimacy and inclusiveness of citizens’ assemblies. The Democratic Odyssey, launched in 2024, offers an instructive model for transnational deliberation. As a pilot for a Permanent People’s Assembly in Europe, it convened a diverse group of citizens from different EU countries in Athens to deliberate on cross-border issues, using random selection with both demographic and regional representation.

What makes the Democratic Odyssey relevant to Mission Ocean & Waters is its layered approach to governance. It combines national-level recruitment with EU-level deliberation, ensuring legitimacy both from the bottom-up and across Member States. This model provides a compelling precedent for how Mission-related CAs could be structured:

• Local and national CAs deliberate on ocean issues relevant to their context.
• Selected representatives participate in an EU-level Mission Ocean & Waters CA.
• EU institutions and civil society ensure outcomes are taken seriously and translated into policy.

This structure recognises the shared yet context-specific nature of marine governance: while oceans transcend borders, public engagement must be grounded in local realities.

The Odyssey also showcases innovations that could be adapted for the Mission context:

• Hybrid events combining in-person and digital formats.
• Rotating regional hubs to host deliberations.
• Multi-lingual facilitation and documentation standards.

These design elements are particularly relevant for the geographical and cultural diversity of the EU’s marine basins. They demonstrate how large-scale assemblies can be inclusive, flexible, and institutionally impactful.

Lessons for the Mission Ecosystem

Mission Ocean & Waters can learn three key lessons from the Democratic Odyssey:

1. Distributed governance strengthens legitimacy: Representation across different levels builds trust.
2. Permanent infrastructure matters: One-off events struggle to sustain engagement or influence.
3. European citizens are ready: With the right support, people across the EU can meaningfully deliberate on complex, cross-border issues.

By building on these insights, the Mission can establish a CA model that not only contributes to its 2030 goals but also helps lay the foundations for enduring public participation in ocean governance.

The two main obstacles to establishing a permanent EU-wide network of CAs—(a) the lack of experience with strategic, cross-border public forums on shared resources, and (b) the absence of permanent structures to support long-term goals—are reflected across four operational aspects that are central to the success of such a network. These four aspects— (1) ownership and financing, (2) selection methods, (3) voting procedures, and (4) follow-up processes—not only define the practical implementation of cross-border assemblies but also offer entry points for overcoming the identified challenges.

Ownership and financing are essential to ensuring long-term institutionalisation and stability, directly addressing the need for durable structures. Effective selection methods and voting procedures, meanwhile, must accommodate Europe’s cultural and political diversity and are crucial for building trust and legitimacy—especially in the context of shared governance over transboundary ecosystems such as oceans and freshwater. Finally, robust follow-up processes are needed to ensure that the outcomes of citizens’ deliberations feed into policymaking and lead to sustained civic engagement—transforming ad hoc initiatives into lasting democratic practices.

The remainder of this section will explore each of these four aspects in turn, identifying practical recommendations and highlighting ways to address the structural obstacles facing an EU-wide CA network.

Building a permanent network of CAs for Mission Ocean & Waters requires clear answers to the question of ownership: Who is responsible for commissioning, supporting, and responding to the work of these assemblies? And how can long-term financing be secured?

• Institutional and citizen ownership

Ownership operates at two levels. First, institutional ownership: Most CAs are commissioned by political institutions, such as parliaments or local governments, that commit to responding to assembly outcomes. Without this commitment, assemblies risk becoming symbolic or disconnected from real policy change. Second, citizen ownership is vital to legitimacy. Participants are more likely to remain engaged – and for recommendations to carry weight – when citizens feel they have agency and responsibility. This can be strengthened by involving citizens in planning, facilitation, ensuring broad diversity, and building confidence in the process.

For a transnational initiative like Mission Ocean & Waters, institutional ownership is more complex. With no single political authority for marine governance, coordination must be anchored in EU institutions. The EC could play a leading role by formally recognising and supporting Mission-linked CAs, ensuring their outputs are channelled into policymaking and upcoming funding priorities. If this institutional layer is not available, then stakeholder agreements - where specific organisations or governments pledge to act on recommendations - can provide an alternative model of accountability.

• Funding strategies for Mission Ocean & Waters-linked CAs

One-off project funding is insufficient for supporting assemblies at scale or sustaining engagement. To succeed, assemblies need adequate resources for logistics (venues, facilitation, translation), participant support (travel, accommodation, childcare), and follow-up (communication, policy dialogue, evaluation).

Previous national examples (e.g., Germany, Austria) have shown the importance of covering participant costs to enable equitable participation. This includes not only per diems and travel but also costs associated with time – ensuring those on lower incomes are not excluded.

There are several potential funding avenues relevant to Mission Ocean & Waters that could be leveraged:

• Horizon Europe Work Programmes (e.g., 2027/2028): a dedicated call topic for CAs within Lighthouses could be considered.
• European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF): funding for participatory governance.
• National or regional co-financing, particularly where marine issues overlap with local priorities.
• Public-private partnerships: industry and NGOs may wish to co-sponsor assemblies to demonstrate legitimacy and corporate responsibility while supporting action.

To ensure continuity beyond 2030, a permanent coordination function could be institutionalised within the EC. A dedicated unit under the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) or the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) (which together oversee Mission Ocean & Waters) could provide long-term support for assembly design, integration, and impact tracking. The four Mission Ocean Lighthouse basin Coordination and Support Action projects (CSAs), under their remit as regional logistical and strategic hubs, could support assemblies at local/regional level and convene them into EU-wide formats at relevant events such as the Mission Forum (see also aspect 4.5.9 below: ensuring follow-up and policy impact).

• Building on existing Mission infrastructure

One promising avenue for supporting CA coordination and continuity is the annual Mission Ocean & Waters Forum in Brussels. This event already provides travel and accommodation funding for Mission Ocean & Waters Charter signatories and could easily be extended to include CA participants. Lighthouse CSAs, functioning as regional coordinators, could identify and nominate CA delegates to attend the Forum and facilitate networking across Member States.

An example of Good Practice: Travel and subsistence for Mission Forum participants is already covered for certain stakeholders — this model could be extended to support citizens’ assembly participants, ensuring equitable access and cost-effective implementation.

A resilient funding model should combine core institutional support, Mission-linked project financing, and multi-level co-investment. This mix would allow for both structured delivery and local flexibility.

A well-designed participant selection process is essential to ensure inclusivity, diversity, and democratic legitimacy. For Mission Ocean & Waters, this means drawing on best practices while adapting to the specific context of marine and transnational governance.

• Random selection with local relevance

Most established CAs use random stratified sampling—selecting participants to reflect demographic diversity across age, gender, geography, education, and income. For the Mission context, additional factors may enhance legitimacy and relevance:

• Proximity to marine or freshwater areas.
• Economic dependence on ocean sectors (e.g., fisheries, tourism).
• Exposure to climate and marine risks (e.g., flooding, erosion).

To promote intergenerational justice, the inclusion of young people is critical. Recent research and practical examples, such as Ireland’s Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (Harris 2021, Mallon et al. 2025), demonstrate how young citizens can contribute meaningfully while increasing the perceived legitimacy and forward-looking quality of recommendations.

• Ensuring inclusivity

To enhance inclusivity, active outreach is often needed beyond random invitations. Random invitations alone often underrepresent marginalised voices. Therefore, active outreach is needed:

• Partnerships with community organisations and schools.
• Multilingual materials and accessible formats.
• Targeted efforts to include underrepresented or hesitant groups, for example, climate sceptics, coastal labourers, Indigenous groups where relevant.

For example, Austria’s Climate Assembly intentionally included climate sceptics to ensure a broader public discourse. Such inclusive design choices enhance credibility and trust in the process.

• Multi-level selection and representation

Given the scale of the Mission, a multi-tiered selection structure is appropriate. Regional or national assemblies could nominate participants to EU-wide forums. This ensures territorial balance and provides local grounding for broader deliberations.

To ensure territorial and political inclusiveness across the EU’s sea basins, one approach could be to include basin-specific CAs through a dedicated call topic between 2026 and 2030. These would operate at project level, fostering basin-relevant deliberation while maintaining a common Mission Ocean & Waters framework. Alternatively, if the Mission chooses to rely more heavily on networking individual, non- Mission Ocean & Waters -funded CAs at local or member state levels, Lighthouse projects could play a key role in outreach, dissemination of the CA recommendations, and facilitating connection with policymakers at regional and EU level. These projects could identify such initiatives and invite representatives of their participant groups to engage through the Lighthouse project structures and the broader Mission Forum, thus integrating bottom-up activity into the Mission’s ecosystem.

A mixed model—combining Mission-funded basin-level assemblies with networks of independent local CAs—could reflect both geographic diversity and Mission coherence. Lighthouse projects could identify and integrate independent CAs into Mission activities, helping link bottom-up initiatives with structured EU processes.

This hybrid architecture would support both representative inclusion and flexible engagement, making the CA network responsive, durable, and scalable across Europe’s marine regions.

Effective deliberation and decision-making processes are at the heart of a successful CA. For Mission Ocean & Waters, these must be adapted to reflect the diversity of participants and the cross-border nature of marine governance.

CAs are grounded in structured dialogue, where diverse participants hear from experts, deliberate together, and formulate collective recommendations. A key principle is consent, not consensus. This means that decisions should reflect broad support, even if not everyone agrees fully. This fosters legitimacy while respecting differing views.

To promote robust deliberation:

• Expert presentations should be balanced and accessible.
• Facilitation must support inclusive participation and psychological safety.
• Citizens should have opportunities to reflect, question, and revise opinions.

Deliberation is enriched when civil society actors, policymakers, and scientists participate alongside citizens—offering context and realism while respecting citizen authority. Austria’s Climate Assembly used expert advisory boards, and Brussels’ regional CA involved civil servants to explain policy cycles. These formats increase both the quality and policy relevance of recommendations.

• Voting methods that reflect diversity

Voting procedures in CAs vary depending on national contexts, with differences in how deliberation is structured and how final recommendations are decided. Hence, CAs use a range of methods to finalise recommendations, including ranked voting, consent thresholds, or deliberative polling. For transnational assemblies, consistency matters: voting protocols should enable the aggregation of local outcomes into coherent Mission-wide recommendations. We recommend testing multiple voting methods during basin- or Lighthouse-level assemblies tailored to local contexts:

• Ranked-choice voting.
• Consent thresholds.
• Thematic clustering.

Results from these pilots could be synthesised at the annual Mission Forum. There, a final round of deliberation using an agreed method could consolidate the Mission’s annual set of citizen recommendations.

CAs hosted by the Lighthouses between 2026 and 2028 could test and refine this approach protocol. Their results would form a baseline for a durable, EU-wide CA model that is suitable to embed citizen knowledge and priorities into the implementation phase of Mission Ocean & Waters. Beyond this, the same model could be employed to similarly engage citizens in line with the aspirations of the Oceans Pact.

In short, deliberative integrity must be matched with practical consistency to ensure CAs not only work locally but also scale effectively across borders, allowing for diversity of regional contexts.

For CAs to have real influence, their recommendations must be legitimate, actionable, and institutionally anchored. Unlike traditional decision-making, CAs do not rely on majority voting but on consent-based processes, aiming for broad agreement rather than simple majorities.

In Austria’s Climate Assembly, for example, participants worked in small groups to develop and refine recommendations before presenting them in plenary. The process emphasised deliberation and mutual understanding over quick consensus. Proposals were collaboratively adjusted, and when concerns remained, they were sent back for further revision. This helped ensure that final outcomes reflected a wide range of perspectives and enjoyed broad support among participants — which is critical for legitimacy and impact.

A key principle of CA deliberation is that participants are encouraged to consider not only their personal interests but also the broader public good. However, even well-crafted recommendations can fail to gain traction without robust follow-up mechanisms. As shown in previous cases, the level of political commitment at the outset strongly influences whether recommendations lead to change. In Austria, for instance, while regional and local implementation showed promise, limited engagement at the national level reduced the assembly’s impact on national policy.

• Early Planning and the Role of Evaluation

Early planning for follow-up is essential. This includes securing political commitment, monitoring implementation, and keeping citizens engaged after the assembly concludes. One proven approach is the use of stakeholder agreements — formal pledges from institutions or governments to either act on the recommendations or explain why they are not adopted. This increases transparency and strengthens trust in the process.

However, follow-up is not just about politics — it also requires a clear strategy for evaluating the outcomes and effectiveness of CAs. A recurring challenge is that funding typically ends with implementation, leaving no resources for robust evaluation. As highlighted in KNOCA’s Impact Evaluation Framework, while many assemblies are designed to influence policy, few include systematic tracking of whether that influence occurred. To address this, impact evaluation should be embedded from the start. This means setting clear goals, defining indicators of success, and allocating sufficient funding and staff capacity for monitoring. Evaluation should address both:

• Process quality: Was the assembly inclusive, informed, and deliberative?
• Outcomes: Did it result in policy uptake, civic engagement, or institutional change?

Within the timeframe of Mission Ocean & Waters, this evaluation work could be taken on by a dedicated citizens’ assembly project or institutionalised within the EC — for instance via DG RTD, DG MARE, or the Mission Secretariat. Alternatively, the Mission Implementation Platform or upcoming Lighthouse CSA projects could include responsibility for monitoring and evaluating CA outcomes as part of their broader oversight roles.

In addition to standard evaluation, participatory approaches — where citizens themselves help define what ‘impact’ looks like — could provide richer insights. These methods acknowledge that CAs often generate transformative outcomes that extend beyond immediate policy changes: shifts in public awareness, democratic culture, and civic agency. Such systemic impacts are especially relevant when thinking about long-term sustainability and democratic renewal. Annual reporting through the Mission Forum could synthesise this learning and inform future work programmes.

At the network level, a shared evaluation framework across all Mission-related CAs could support learning, comparability, and improved practice. The annual Mission Forum could serve as the central arena for presenting evaluation results and synthesising insights across the ecosystem. This would not only enhance accountability but also help align citizen input with future Horizon Europe calls and marine governance priorities.

To formalise this process, we recommend that Lighthouse CSAs and National Mission Hubs coordinate a yearly CA synthesis process. This would culminate at the Mission Forum with a dedicated citizens’ assembly session that:

• Consolidates results from national and local assemblies
• Presents regional insights to EU policymakers
• Informs the following year’s Mission Ocean & Waters Work Programme

This process would create a feedback loop — allowing citizen input to meaningfully shape research and innovation funding.

• Sustaining Engagement Beyond the Assembly

To maintain engagement after the assembly ends, structured follow-up activities should be offered — such as funded participation in the annual Mission Forum, where citizens can reconnect, share progress, and help present recommendations. This positions CAs not as one-off events but as ongoing democratic infrastructures.

Lighthouse CSAs could take on a coordinating role by establishing regional umbrella structures that keep former CA participants engaged. These bodies could support continued communication, mobilise citizen input for new consultations, and foster a networked culture of participation. National Mission Hubs could facilitate knowledge transfer and ensure alignment between grassroots and institutional levels.

• Mission Forum as Policy Interface

At the EU level, the Mission Forum offers a practical, cost-efficient mechanism for linking citizen input to policy development. Travel and accommodation funding is already available for Charter signatories — extending this to CA participants would ensure broader access and reinforce the value of their contribution.

The Forum could also host structured deliberation workshops, where CA representatives work with policymakers to translate assembly outcomes into EU-level recommendations or roadmaps. These could directly influence the framing of future calls for proposals and strategic priorities within the Mission and beyond.

Similar regional events, hosted by Lighthouse CSAs earlier in the year (e.g., Arena events), could build momentum and feed into the Mission Forum’s synthesis process.

• Readiness, Inclusion, and Long-Term Impact

Ensuring that no one is left behind — particularly groups that are harder to reach or underrepresented in traditional policymaking — requires more time and support than typical EU consultation timelines allow. For example, the public consultation on the European Ocean Pact ran for less than one month — far too short to host inclusive, well-facilitated deliberative processes.

To overcome this, the CA network should be designed to be operational early in the policy cycle and able to respond quickly when consultations open. This could include:

• A standing pool or registry of trained citizen participants.
• Agreed activation protocols.
• Early invitations from EU institutions to involve the network before key consultations close.

This would ensure that citizen deliberation is not an afterthought, but a strategic input into policymaking — both during the Mission and under the future European Oceans Pact.

• Embedding the Legacy: A Permanent Role for CAs in EU Marine Governance

Due to the Mission’s cross-border nature, EU institutions must play a coordinating role to connect individual assemblies to broader marine policy frameworks. To ensure sustainability, a mixed funding model will be necessary — combining EU funds, national co-financing, and public-private partnerships.

Full accessibility must be guaranteed: this includes covering costs such as travel, childcare, and time compensation, in line with the Leave No One Behind principle. A portion of CA funding — whether from Horizon Europe, EMFAF, or national sources — should be ring-fenced for long-term monitoring, evaluation, and institutional integration.

Ultimately, we recommend establishing a permanent coordination function at EU level. This would institutionalise CAs as a recognised part of marine governance, helping to ensure that public deliberation remains a lasting feature of EU environmental policy — not just a temporary experiment of the Mission.

To make CAs a lasting contribution to European ocean governance, Mission Ocean & Waters could support the creation of a permanent, structured network that aligns with its implementation roadmap and long-term vision. This could be based on a strategic integration with the Mission Ecosystem.

During Phase Two (2026–2030), focused on upscaling and deployment, the Mission is ideally positioned to embed CAs into its core architecture. A coordinated network would operate across three levels:

1. Regional and national CAs addressing or incorporating context-specific marine issues.
2. EU-level Mission CA, composed of representatives from lower tiers.
3. Institutional anchors (DG RTD, DG MARE, National Mission Hubs, and Lighthouse CSAs) ensuring uptake and feedback.

To ensure practical steps toward the establishment of a CA for Mission Ocean & Waters, key actions could include:

• Annual calls for expressions of interest from macro-regions, regions, and local communities to host Mission-linked CAs.
• Dedicated support from Lighthouse CSAs for facilitation, capacity-building, coordination and evaluation.
• Establishment of a Mission-wide deliberation and synthesis process, culminating at the annual Mission Forum.
• Annual integration at the Mission Forum: Each year, Lighthouse CSAs and a central CA coordination team organise a synthesis workshop at the Forum. This connects regional outcomes with EU-level deliberation.
• Cost-effective use of existing mechanisms: Build on existing travel and accommodation infrastructure for Charter signatories to ensure CA participation is equally supported.

Pathway to impact: Forum outcomes feed directly into the design of future Work Programmes, providing a direct route from citizen input to funding priorities. To ensure continuity, a CA coordination function should be established within the Mission Secretariat or relevant Commission services. This entity would:

• Oversee CA protocols, evaluation frameworks, and integration with Work Programme design.
• Serve as a central contact point for Lighthouse projects and external stakeholders.
• Manage long-term documentation, institutional memory, and community engagement.

Existing initiatives provide valuable models for structuring an EU-wide CA network or could themselves be used as platforms to establish an EU-wide CA network for Mission Ocean & Waters:

• KNOCA (Knowledge Network on Climate Assemblies), which has developed guidance on permanent climate assemblies and on impact evaluation,
• The Bertelsmann Foundation's proposal for institutionalizing citizen participation at the EU level,
• The Democratic Odyssey, which launched a transnational Peoples' Assembly in 2024,
• The Global Citizens’ Assembly Network (GloCAN), founded in 2023, which applies lessons from the first Global Assembly on Climate and Ecology to support policymakers and organizers of global citizens’ assemblies. It is funded by the European Climate Foundation, the Australian Research Council, and the University of Canberra,
• The Global Citizens’ Assembly on the Ocean, launched by Missions Publiques in April 2024 as part of the UN Ocean Decade, is a precursor to a global process engaging 10,000 citizens across 100 countries, with outcomes shaping discussions at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference.

Financing and inclusion mechanisms: A blended financing model—combining EU, national, and private contributions—will be essential to sustain the network beyond 2030. All participation costs must be covered, including travel, childcare, and compensation. This is critical to uphold the Leave No One Behind principle.

The Mission Forum already provides a funding precedent for supporting citizen travel and accommodation. Extending this support to CA representatives—along with structured feedback loops into Mission planning—would demonstrate institutional commitment and establish legitimacy whilst enabling reflective learning and impact tracking.

A legacy beyond the Mission: By 2030, this CA network could evolve into a permanent European infrastructure for civil society engagement in ocean governance—available for use beyond the Mission timeframe, including under the European Ocean Pact and future policy frameworks.

A structured, citizen-led deliberative network would not only enhance the Mission’s democratic credentials but also position the EU as a global leader in participatory environmental governance. Establishing it now is an investment in the legitimacy, adaptability, and sustainability of Europe’s marine policy future.