The Megafon project engages local citizens in an accessible way, fostering the co-construction and implementation of novel solutions for civic improvement.
A collaborative approach to local issues
Anderlecht is a dynamic, diverse Belgian municipality of some 125,000 inhabitants with great potential, but which also faces real challenges. As one of the poorest municipalities in Belgium, its citizens feel that safety, street cleanliness, access to green spaces, and mobility are primary concerns. Such an environment requires innovative and in-depth collaboration techniques in order to give citizens a voice to better tackle these issues.
Collective decision-making
The Megafon project renews constructive civic dialogue by consulting local citizens neighbourhood by neighbourhood, identifying their priorities through meetings and surveys, and recruiting a representative sample of residents to co-construct, finance, and implement specific solutions. Through this project, citizens experiment with collective decision-making on matters of general interest. With the participation of the city’s administrative services, citizens are encouraged to better understand the technical, legal, and financial complexities of a project.
Services provided
This process is unique in the way that it combines different approaches, including in-person and online surveys for the agenda-setting phase, creative ideation sessions for the design of initiatives, and a final formalisation process that produces a solution ready for elected officials to vote on. It is also outstanding due to the level of commitment of the municipality over time (roughly two years in total), and the involvement of its administrative services in working hand-in-hand with citizens to identify issues and implement practical solutions. Finally, this supportive process is meant to allow a range of people to take part and make a visible difference, regardless of their mastery of French or Dutch, literacy level, or national origin.
Impact
In 2024, the project expanded to other neighbourhoods, with the process being refined to maximise its impact based on the lessons learnt in the first two areas. More than 20 concrete, citizen-led projects have received funding and are now being actively implemented. Megafon was nominated as a finalist for the 2023 Political Innovation Award!
In 2025–2026, Dreamocracy is delighted to resume work with Anderlecht to deliver the final two neighbourhoods of the Megafon project. Having supported the first two areas, the team is now working on the last two.
In the meantime, Anderlecht’s participation department has capitalised on the lessons learnt from the project, and several initiatives stemming from the previous zones have already been implemented or are currently underway. The mechanics of public procurement make it rare for a service provider such as Dreamocracy to be able to commit to the long-term duration of a project and observe its follow-up and aftermath. Yet understanding and taking this long-term perspective into account is a crucial step in strengthening citizen participation and its impact.
