LocationsRebuilding Trust Through Participation
December 17, 2025
Rebuilding Trust Through Participation: From Deliberative Polling to Public Hearings in Mongolia
How Dialogue is Empowering Communities and Strengthening Governance
Across Mongolia, new participation methods are ensuring communities have a voice in decisions that affect them. From digital tools that make public spending transparent to citizen dialogues in mining regions, these approaches broaden inclusion and strengthen governance.
This effort is part of the Promoting Participation Pathway for Human Development (3P4D) initiative, active in Kenya, Mongolia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, and Senegal. The program advances reforms that protect civic freedoms, expand participation platforms, and create conditions for meaningful engagement in public life.
In Mongolia, 15 civil society-led and civic participation initiatives under 3P4D are piloting bottom-up approaches to civic engagement. These efforts helped Mongolia become the first Asian country selected for the Open Government Partnership Challenge, signalling a national commitment to transparency and participation.
The following stories show how communities are redefining participation in practice:
Arslanbaatar, Resident of Tumentsogt Soum
A Citizen’s Story – Tumentsogt Soum, Sukhbaatar Province
Tumentsogt Soum piloted deliberative polling for the first time in rural Mongolia, enabling citizens to openly discuss local issues and shape decisions. Arslanbaatar, a resident of 70 years, initially felt excluded until a handwritten invitation arrived.
“I had never been part of a meeting that truly listened to citizens”, he later said: “That day, I felt trust beginning to return.”
The citizens discussed long-standing concerns at the event, while facilitators documented every idea. Led under the 3P4D project, the initiative was championed by a young woman, Shurentsetseg, the Deputy Governor and member of the Citizens’ Representative Assembly, who helped bring deliberative polling to the Soum and fostered a space for openness. The successful pilot encouraged Tumentsogt to adopt the method going forward and share its experience with other communities.
Bulgan Provincial Hearing
Bulgan’s First Public Hearing
In Bulgan aimag, a long-ignored environmental issue came to light through the community’s first public hearing on hazardous waste contamination. For decades, waste from an old veterinary laboratory was improperly stored, yet information about the risks remained inaccessible.
Partnering with the Liberal Women’s Brain Pool and the Citizens’ Representative Assembly, the 3P4D project supported a public hearing to share information and allow citizens to question officials and experts. This marked the first time at the provincial level that a public hearing was held on a highly complex technical issue, such as hazardous chemical waste.
The hearing created a space to address questions, clarify misinformation and express concerns. This two-way exchange built trust, improved understanding and created the groundwork for closer collaboration between citzens and local officials. Local authorities committed to sharing updates publicly and engaging civil society systematically in remediation efforts.
Caretakers' Training
Caregivers Take the Lead in Baganuur District
Caregiving in Baganuur has long been invisible. Behind the district’s 421 persons with disabilities, there are 421 caregivers whose work was not formally counted, valued or included in policy development.
Through the 3P4D, the National Association of Wheelchair Users conducted Mongolia’s first household-level caregivers count in five khoroos and a wider district study covering 260 people with disabilities and their caregivers. Participatory training brought caregivers together to discuss rights and service gaps.
“For 20 years, I cared for my child, but no one called it ‘work,’” one caregiver shared. “Now I believe my voice can reach policy-level decision-making.”
By generating the district’s first reliable data on care work and amplifying caregivers’ voices to policy level, Baganuur is now developing a new inclusive care economy model, one that could be scaled nationally and bring visibility and recognition to thousands of caregivers across Mongolia.
Together, these stories show civic participation improving access to information, rebuilding trust, and shaping policy. As these approaches expand, more people will have the opportunity to influence decisions affecting their lives.
The 3P4D initiative, funded through UNDP’s Funding Windows with support from the Governments of Luxembourg, Denmark, and the Republic of Korea, will continue turning local experiences into lasting systems of participation.
