Through neighbourhood meetings, digital tools, and AI-supported analysis across 64 neighbourhoods, Nilüfer put citizens at the heart of its strategic planning process.
FROM ONE-OFF CONSULTATION TO STRUCTURED GOVERNANCE
Decision-making in local government too often happens with limited citizen input, leading to policies that don't fully reflect community needs. Co-Create, Co-Manage was developed to change this. Nilüfer Municipality conducted its 2025-2029 Strategic Planning process through a multi-stakeholder approach spanning neighbourhood meetings, participation and future workshops, digital surveys, and innovative engagement tools across all 64 neighbourhoods. Building on Nilüfer's tradition as one of the first municipalities in Türkiye to voluntarily adopt strategic planning before it became a legal requirement, this project takes participatory governance a significant step further.
PARTICIPATION POWERED BY DATA AND DIGITAL TOOLS
The project's innovation lies in combining broad community engagement with AI-supported data analysis, ensuring that citizens' inputs are not just collected but directly integrated into every phase of the strategic plan. Multi-layered participation mechanisms reached diverse target groups across the municipality, making engagement continuous and measurable rather than symbolic. This data-driven approach transforms participation from a consultation exercise into a structural part of how the municipality plans, decides, and acts, establishing a transparent and inclusive governance model that is both scalable and replicable.
CITIZENS WHO SHAPE, MONITOR, AND INFLUENCE
The 2025-2029 Strategic Plan was shaped directly by citizen contributions, with inputs reflected in performance indicators and decision-making mechanisms. The establishment of a Participation Council and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms ensures that citizen engagement continues well beyond the planning phase. Regular assessment of local needs feeds into future planning cycles, creating a sustainable culture of participatory democracy. Co-Create, Co-Manage demonstrates that meaningful participation is not a one-off event but a continuous, institutionalised part of local governance.
