Report on the "Building Trust in Public Institutions

The panel “Building Trust in Public Institutions: Communication, Governance, and Participation,” held on March 27, 2026, was organized by Edgeryders as part of the INTERFACED Horizon Europe project, which examines how democratic participation beyond voting has evolved in the post-COVID context. The event explored how trust in public institutions intersects with different social and political settings. It also served as a research activity within INTERFACED, generating qualitative data through discussion and participant engagement.

The event included an introduction to INTERFACED and Edgeryders, followed by three expert presentations, a moderated discussion, and audience Q&A. The format reflected the project’s focus on participatory “interfaces” that combine expert knowledge with collaborative discussion. The introduction also outlined Edgeryders’ methodological approach, combining ethnographic research with semantic social network analysis to study how themes and experiences cluster across conversations.

Dr. Flaviana Palmisano (Sapienza University of Rome) presented research rooted in econometrics on the relationship between inequality and institutional trust. Drawing on international datasets, she argued that higher inequality tends to reduce trust by increasing perceived social distance and perceptions of unfairness. She also highlighted digital interaction with public institutions as a potential mitigating factor, since accessible and transparent digital systems can reduce perceived distance between citizens and institutions.

Dr. Nerea Gándara (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and collaborator on INTERFACED) discussed institutional trust in post-pandemic Europe from a political science perspective. Using European Social Survey data, she showed that trust in political institutions remains relatively low, while trust in science and expertise tends to be higher. Her presentation emphasized that trust varies across countries and is strongly shaped by socioeconomic conditions and political engagement.

Adel Azouni, a climate change advisor and youth ambassador based in Tunis, focused on environmental inequality and institutional trust in Tunisia in his presentation. He described how climate change, water scarcity, pollution, and environmental degradation disproportionately affect vulnerable communities, while lack of transparency and limited access to information within Tunisia weaken trust in institutions. He emphasized the importance of participation, accessibility, and locally produced knowledge in building and rebuilding trust.

The broader discussion connected these perspectives around several common themes. Participants emphasized that distrust emerges from both structural conditions and everyday experiences, including inequality, bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of transparency, and weak communication between institutions and citizens. Trust was discussed as a lived and relational experience shaped by everyday interactions with institutions. Digital technologies were seen as having both positive and negative potential: they may increase transparency and participation, but can also reproduce inequality or amplify misinformation.

The panel concluded with audience discussion on digital interaction, media, and public trust. Overall, the event successfully functioned both as a dissemination activity and as a participatory research interface within INTERFACED, contributing material for the project’s ethnographic corpus.