Major findings and paths for research: A concluding note

In this concluding note, the editors of this special issue first produce a synthesis of the findings of the empirical cases. Regarding delegation problems in the participatory devices under scrutiny, the conclusions are contrasting, and the outcome depends very much on the institutional design of each procedure, and on the kind of skills that are necessary to participate. Regarding the quality of deliberations, moderately positive conclusions are reached as a rule. With respect to the efficiency of these mechanisms, the results are much more limited: their decisional impact is weak, with the exception of the most elitist mechanisms, and the procedures under scrutiny did not seem to have any lasting integrative or 'educative' effects on the participants. Also, the situation with respect to transparency is problematic: there is no link between the degree of formalisation and influence on decisions, and most mechanisms are weakly publicised. In the end, the editors underline shifts in legitimacy principles induced by these procedures and sketch some paths for future research that should include a survey of the interplay between these procedures, the representative framework at large and other kinds of shifts in policy making.