The three-year (01.03.2024 – 28.02.2026) Horizon Europe research project ActEU, which brought together 12 partner institutions and 20 civil society actors from across Europe, was successfully completed under the project coordinator Prof. Dr. Michael Kaeding.
The project, funded by the European Union, addressed issues of trust in politics and democratic institutions, as well as current developments in the areas of participation and representation across the European multi-level system.
To this end, new, innovative data sets were collected and evaluated as part of the project, including focus groups, an experimental survey and web scraping data from social media platforms. Among other things, the researchers involved were able to show that a sense of economic security plays a central role in trust in all levels of government (Link). Most of the reports produced in the project are freely accessible and can be downloaded from Zenodo.
To ensure the project has a lasting impact, the consortium has compiled an ActEU edited volume, which will be published in May 2026 and offers an in-depth insight into the project results. In addition, a toolbox has been created, consisting of a series of policy briefs for political decision-makers and a toolkit for political education. The toolkit includes a database of existing knowledge resources, infographics, videos, and templates for lessons.
In addition, cartoonists were commissioned to translate the key findings of ActEU into a format accessible to school and university students. The image below shows one of these cartoons, which deals with the role of politicians in creating social divisions.
All resources mentioned in this article and further information about the project can be found on the project website.