Citizens’ assemblies as an option for participatory heritage management: impact on the management of the Bundeskunsthalle museum in Germany
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15517/rr.v107i1.00006Keywords:
Citizen participation , Participatory democracy, Heritage management, Museums, Institutional policiesAbstract
Introduction: This article analyses the short-term impact of the Citizens’ Assembly held in November 2023 at the Bundeskunsthalle museum in Bonn, the first documented case of its kind in a European museum.
Objective: To assess the extent to which the recommendations formulated by the Bundeskunsthalle Citizens’ Assembly were translated into institutional policies, and how the initial preferences of decision-makers shaped that impact.
Method and technique: The study combines a documental analysis of the Assembly’s recommendations and the museum’s responses in two parts: evaluating the congruence between proposals and adopted policies and applying the Sequential Impact Matrix to identify types of influence on decision-makers. This was complemented by semi-structured interviews with museum staff and collaborating organizations.
Results: The analysis reveals a high level of adoption: most recommendations were fully or partially implemented. The Assembly generated primarily innovative and enriching influences, introducing new ideas or strengthening existing initiatives. Only one recommendation produced a transformative shift in the professional perspectives of museum staff, while a small number aligned with pre-existing preferences. Recommendations not adopted were mainly linked to institutional feasibility constraints.
Conclusions: The experience shows that Citizens’ Assemblies can bring genuine value to heritage management by fostering innovation, institutional openness, and practical improvements. Although their transformative capacity is limited, they represent a promising tool to strengthen citizen participation in museums and other cultural institutions.
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