Institutionalizing Democratic Innovations in Poland: Mapping the Evolution of Citizens’ Assemblies Through Rules of Procedure

Institutions play a crucial role in organizing, systematizing, and simplifying public life, enabling the planning of activities and structuring the behavior of individuals. In Poland, various institutionalized and formalized instruments of civic engagement are commonly used at the local level, particularly in municipalities (Kołomycew, 2023). However, since 2013, there has been a surge in democratic innovations, such as participatory budgeting and, since 2016, citizens’ assemblies (CAs), which serve as deliberative instruments of a quasi-decisive nature (Gerwin, 2018; Podgórska-Rykała, 2020; Pospieszna & Pietrzyk-Reeves, 2024; Ufel, 2022). This article explores the process of institutionalizing CAs in Poland by analyzing the evolution and content of their Rules of Procedure (RoPs). We focus on Poland due to its unique position as one of the first Central and Eastern European countries to join the deliberative wave (Carson & Gerwin, 2018; OECD, 2020). Using a triangulated theoretical approach that draws from neo-institutionalism, structuration theory, and critical institutionalism, this article investigates how formalization, practice, and political creativity interact in shaping this democratic innovation. The study is based on a comparative analysis of 10 local climate assemblies organized between 2016 and 2023. Its findings suggest that while RoPs serve as formalizing scripts, they also reflect evolving practices and localized reinterpretations that expand the civic potential of CAs.