Elisa Lironi is the Programme Director for European Democracy, working at the European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) since 2015.
She develops and leads ECAS’ European Democracy focus area by implementing EU projects and services related to Digital Democracy, Understanding Populism and Civic Engagement. She conducts research specifically on e-participation practices in Europe and her latest publication includes the book chapter “Crowdsourcing EU Legislation: Harnessing the Power of Digital Democracy” (2021, ECPR Press).
Elisa is currently leading the Civil Society Convention’s Digital Transformation Cluster that brings CSO proposals to the Conference on the Future of Europe and will feed into the EU’s priority of “A Europe fit for the digital age”. Since 2018, she is an ECI Expert for the European Citizens’ Initiative Forum, working with the Secretariat-General of the European Commission on developing and implementing this online collaborative platform.
ECAS is an international, Brussels-based non-profit organisation with a pan-European membership and nearly 30 years of experience in empowering citizens in order to create a more inclusive and stronger European Union. The organisation promotes and defends citizens’ rights and develops supporting mechanisms to increase democratic participation in the EU.