Ieva Česnulaitytė

I am a researcher, policy analyst, and activist with nearly a decade of experience across government, civil society, and international organisations. My latest research interests are focused at the intersection of deliberative democracy, memory, and trauma-informed participation.Since January 2026, I am a PhD candidate at UCLouvain, awarded an FNRS FRESH grant. My interdisciplinary research explores how the weight of the past manifests in deliberative processes.Throughout 2025, I advised on the design and implementation of the Vilnius Citizens’ Assembly - the first assembly in Lithuania. This work included an extensive capacity and ecosystem building process as part of DemocracyNext’s cities program.Until summer 2024, I served as the founding Head of Research and Learning for DemocracyNext, a global platform for democratic innovation, where I led projects including the development of the Assembling an Assembly Guide, a collaboration with Design & Democracy on a democracy exhibition and citizens’ assemblies in two museums, a book project on institutionalising citizens’ assemblies, the organisation’s research and learning strategy, and a virtual learning programme on citizens’ assemblies for cities.I was a 2023-2024 Europe’s Futures Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna, where I researched citizen deliberation as a democratic response to authoritarianism in Central and Eastern Europe.As a former policy analyst at the OECD, I co-developed the Deliberative Democracy Toolbox, analysing over 700 citizens’ assemblies worldwide to establish standards of good practice. I have collaborated with governments across Europe, including the Basque Country, Germany, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, and Lithuania, to develop citizens’ assemblies.Earlier, I led Lithuania’s participation in the Open Government Partnership Initiative within the office of the Lithuanian Prime Minister.I am a member of the OECD Innovative Citizen Participation Network, the Europe’s Futures Institute, and PeoplePowered Research Committee. I serve on the Advisory Boards of the Democracy R&D global network and the gender equality NGO Lygiosios.

Selected publications

Citizens’ Assemblies in Central and Eastern Europe

Deliberative processes: guides and best practices

Citizen participation: guides

OECD | Citizen Participation Guidelines

Selected media

Demokratinio raumens mankšta, NARA.
Eastern Europe needs new defences against attacks on its democracies, Euronews.
Gydantis ir traumuojantis miestas, Homo Cultus. Žmogus ir miestas.
Piliečių įtraukimas – atsakas į šiandienos iššūkius, Bernardinai.
Citizens' Assemblies as a Matter of National Security in Central and Eastern Europe, IWMpost.
Dem Rat von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern eine Chance geben, Die Presse.
Austrians Already Have the Answer to Their Democratic Challenges - Will They Use It?, Europe's Futures.
How to shore up democracy in Eastern Europe after the Ukraine war, Responsible Statecraft.

Let's connect

Contact me at [email protected]

Design elements by Julija Česnulaitytė