How a Czech Government Reformer Is Making Participation Permanent
/For over a decade, Klara Cizkova has been trying to change how the Czech government listens to its citizens. Working inside the Ministry of Health — often as the only person in her unit dedicated to promoting participation — she helped build the Patient Council, a body that brings together 25 patient organizations to inform health policy. But inside a large institution, pushing for this kind of change can be isolating. She needed resources and tools, but what she needed most was "a community of people that I did not have to explain why participation is important." She found that at People Powered.
Klara's experience reflects a broader challenge. Governments and civil society organizations around the world have experimented with innovative ways to involve citizens in decision-making, such as participatory budgeting, citizens' assemblies or open consultations. But too often, these remain isolated experiments. They happen once, generate enthusiasm and then disappear. The challenge is not launching a participatory initiative, but making participation a permanent part of how government works.
This is at the heart of the Mainstreaming Participation Accelerator (MPA), a program led by the Institute of Public Finance (IPF) in partnership with People Powered and the Open Government Partnership (OGP) to support reformers working to turn one-off initiatives into sustained practices. It involves not only civil society organizations, but also people working inside government, like Klara.
Watch the video to see how this work is being developed inside the government.
From Youth Voices to a Ministry-Wide Strategy
Through People Powered's Rising Stars Mentorship Program, Klara was paired with a mentor who supported her in bringing youth voices into health policy for the first time. This led to the creation of a dedicated youth working group within the Patient Council.
Klara saw this as a starting point. She later joined the Mainstreaming Participation Accelerator, a six-month program launched by People Powered, OGP, and IPF, designed to help reformers embed participation into government processes. Through mentorship, practical tools, and peer exchange with practitioners from other countries, she developed a more structured approach to her work. The Ministry of Health adopted an official participation strategy, introduced training programs, and developed frameworks to guide new policy processes.
Participation strengthens trust between citizens and institutions
The stakes go beyond any single program or policy. According to OECD research, trust in government institutions in the Czech Republic is among the lowest in Europe. From Klara’s experience, participation is one way to rebuild that trust. During the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions that had established relationships with communities were better able to share information and deliver services, because those relationships were already in place.
“We need to strengthen these relationships through participatory processes, so that when another crisis comes, there is trust to rely on.”
For Klara, the work is not only about processes. In a country where citizens have grown accustomed to being told what to do and what to think, she believes the real change starts with imagination. “I would love to help create a better idea of agency, of possible futures to reignite people’s imagination in the Czech Republic. We have so many creative and capable people. But sometimes I feel like we need to give them that spark.”
At People Powered, she found the resources, tools, peers and the community to make that spark possible. Starting from where she is, inside the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic.
Klara Cizkova participated in People Powered's Rising Stars Mentorship Program and the Mainstreaming Participation Accelerator, a program launched by People Powered, the Open Government Partnership (OGP), and the Institute of Public Finance (IPF).
Interested in mainstreaming participation in your institution? Applications for the Rising Stars Mentorship and Climate Democracy Accelerator are open now.
