Call for Funders | Two Seats Open for Democracy Investors
We are inviting two new Democracy Investors to join the high-level consortium of foundations and think tanks running the Open European Dialogue (OED), Europe's first cross-party, cross-border dialogue, learning and policy incubation platform for elected policymakers.
Over the past ten years, OED has developed and tested a distinctive approach to cross-party, cross-border political dialogue and collaboration. Ahead of the 2027 edition of our flagship Policy Mission Fellowship, we are opening the next chapter of this work and looking for new partners to scale it.
The Opportunity
We are looking for two Associate Democracy Investors, each contributing between €30,000-€70,000.
As a new partner, you join the Open European Dialogue's consortium right in time for the next phase of the Policy Mission Fellowship – a one-of-a-kind policymaker programme we successfully piloted in 2026 in partnership with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
What your investment enables Bringing parliamentarians from across Europe and across party lines together around a shared mission, working alongside leading experts, practitioners and academics, and turning their dialogue into actionable policy prototypes.
Timeline We are opening conversations now. Design of the 2027 Fellowship begins this autumn, ahead of its mid-2027 launch. Partners who join at this stage help shape it from the start.
What you gain Impact and track record A mechanism already shown to strengthen European democracy through open dialogue, cross-party collaboration, and evidence-based policymaking.
Real influence A voice in shaping the cohort and the themes we tackle, and the chance to contribute your organisation's expertise to processes that have an impact in cross-party policymaking.
A seat among peer Democracy Investors Close collaboration with Robert Bosch Stiftung, King Baudouin Foundation, and think tank partners Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), and the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB). Partners contributing at higher levels join the OED Board. Contributions at this level are agreed individually, and we would be glad to explore the options with you in conversation.
Our Vision
Europe needs more ambitious, non-partisan political thinking and visionary policy action to secure our standing and advancement as democratic societies.
Chiara Rosselli, Head of the Open European Dialogue
At the heart of Europe's democratic fragility and many of the challenges it faces is a crisis of collective intelligence. Our ability to govern ourselves democratically rests on the ability of actors within the political system to deliberate across lines of disagreement, integrate competing perspectives into workable policy solutions, and sustain the collaborative processes through which solutions to complex problems are negotiated over time. This capability is eroding. As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has put it:
"the very architecture of collective problem solving is under threat".
When political deliberation and collaboration malfunction, the consequences are weaker policy solutions, more destructive forms of polarisation, and declining trust in democracy.
This is where the Open European Dialogue intervenes.
Recognised by the OECD in 2021 as a global best practice in cross-border collaboration and governance innovation, the Open European Dialogue has spent over a decade bringing national and European politicians together across borders and party lines, creating diagnostic and dialogic spaces for effective cross-party political exchange, contributing to sharpening political thinking and the cultivation of respect for the political other. The Policy Mission Fellowship is the fullest expression of this work. Designed specifically for elected policymakers, it combines political dialogue, learning and policy incubation. Over six months, participants engage constructively across ideologies and geographies, learn from leading experts and practitioners, and work together to prototype policy solutions for Europe's most critical challenges. The capacity for political dialogue and the ability to collaborate across divides are often treated as soft skills. We see them as core democratic infrastructure.
The Policy Mission Fellowship is intentionally designed to cultivate:
Capacity to develop bolder, more ambitious policy
Matching the magnitude of current democratic challenges – and bolstered by an emboldened sense of agency and stronger leadership to drive long-term change.
Enhanced quality of political thinking
A more sophisticated analytical capability, defined by the capacity to understand the nuance of complex, multidimensional challenges, informed by diverse political perspectives and enriched by evidence-based expertise.
A collaborative political reflex
An aptitude for solving problems collectively, identifying cross-party opportunity, and operating with a European instinct: the reflex of reaching across borders and ideological divides.
Accelerated policy ideation and incubation
Methods from APROPOS's Political Process Design practice, from collective intelligence tools to political mobilisation strategies, to develop and test ideas quickly.
Impact and Track Record
Over the past decade, OED has worked with more than 600 politicians across 40 countries through more than 60 dialogue and collaboration formats, with support from leading actors in European democracy, from Robert Bosch Stiftung, King Baudouin Foundation, Bertelsmann Stiftung and Stiftung Mercator to the European Commission and WEND Collective.
Across ten years of OED programmes, participants reported:
increased capacity to carry out their policymaking role: 100%
increased likelihood of cross-party and cross-border collaboration: 97%
actively use OED contacts in their parliamentary work: 84%
changed views on people with different political perspectives: 71%
The 2026 pilot. We planned a cohort of sixteen parliamentarians; demand led us to welcome 25, from 16 countries and 24 political parties. Together, they developed six actionable policy prototypes.
"The Open European Dialogue really changed things for me. Getting to actually sit and talk with people from parliaments across Europe. The people I met aren't just names in my contacts now; they're folks I can call when I'm stuck. Some of the solutions I'm most proud of came straight out of those honest conversations we had."
Adam Szłapka, Modern Party (Poland), Government Spokesman and Former Minister for the European Union
Is This for You?
This is for funders interested in joining a group of other committed Democracy Investors supporting a mechanism with direct impact on how political thinking and decision-making happen across Europe today.
"The OED creates a rare and trusted space for exchange across countries and political divides. As part of the funder consortium, we play an active role in guiding the programme and its content. By enabling political leaders to think beyond immediate pressures, develop new policy options, and strengthen relationships, OED helps shape future-oriented policymaking and contributes to a healthier democracy."
Agnes Kolodziej, Senior Project Manager, Futures and Networks, Robert Bosch Stiftung
We are looking for partners who bring conviction, intellectual firepower and strategic judgement to a proven model at a consequential moment in its development, and who are ready to contribute thought partnership and networks as well as resources.
Next Step
We are opening conversations now, so that new partners can join this year and help shape the 2027 programme from the start. New partners work closely with us as we develop each edition of the Fellowship.
Europe needs MORE ambitious, non-partisan political thinking and visionary policy action to secure our standing and advancement as democratic societies. That starts with more places for constructive exchange and policy development. The Open European Dialogue is one of them. We would be glad to build the next programme with you.
