Strategies to Enhance Informed Trust and Institutional Trustworthiness

How can public communication contribute to institutional trustworthiness? What strategies ensure accountability and informed public judgment in democratic governance?

Public trust in institutions depends not on blind faith, but on their demonstrated competence, impartiality, and integrity. In democratic societies, effective oversight mechanisms, independent monitoring bodies, investigative journalism play a vital role in ensuring accountability.

However, in an era of misinformation and polarization, fostering informed public judgment—based on transparent and credible information rather than manipulation or skepticism—has become an urgent challenge.

This webinar will critically examine the role of public communication in reinforcing institutional trustworthiness, rather than merely seeking to "build trust".

Experts from political science, media studies, and public policy—alongside practitioners from agencies supporting public authorities—will discuss:

• The risks of misinformation, propaganda, and performative trust-building efforts that can erode democratic credibility.
• How institutions can demonstrate trustworthiness through transparency and accountability.
• The role of public communication strategies in fostering informed engagement.
• How media and policymakers can navigate the balance between informing, scrutinizing, and engaging citizens.

Speakers:

• Judith Ferrando (Co-Director of Missions Publiques, Board Member of the ICPC) – Insights from public engagement and citizen participation initiatives.
• Sarah Kups (Senior Economist, Public Governance Directorate, Governance Indicators and Performance Division, OECD) - Key recommendations from OECD report on Building trust in a complex policy environment.
• Mario Scharfbillig (Science for Policy Analyst, European Commission) – Key recommendations from the Trustworthy Public Communication (Joint Research Center) report.
• Paschalia Spyridou (Assistant Professor, Cyprus University of Technology) – The role of media in participatory budgeting (Demotec Project).

Join us for a discussion that moves beyond conventional narratives of "trust-building" to explore what truly makes institutions worthy of public confidence.

This webinar is part of the Truedem project, led by Christian Haerpfer and Pippa Norris, and funded by Horizon Europe (2023-2025).

The roundtable will be moderated by Frédéric Gonthier (Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA), Aneta Vilagi (Comenius University, Bratislava) and Christian Haerpfer (University of Vienna).

This event will be fully online: https://sciencespo-grenoble-fr.zoom.us/j/91388985007?pwd=lKkeCKUex3Z5Xd…