The ITHACA project (Artificial Intelligence To enhance Civic participation) was a research and innovation project under the Horizon Europe programme, all about using artificial intelligence to help people get involved in civic life and democratic processes.

The project tackled some new challenges with AI in society, especially things like being open about how it works, building trust, thinking about ethics and making sure technology isn’t used for bad purposes. The main goal was to create and test an AI platform that helps citizens get involved in local decisions, all while keeping human-centred AI principles in mind.

ITHACA also made sure to include lots of different groups of people, especially those who might be at risk, with a big focus on protecting human rights, making sure algorithms are fair and being clear about how decisions are made.

The project ran from January 2023 to December 2025, and it hopes to shape how AI is used in public services and democratic systems in the future.

Funding and duration:

• Programme: Horizon Europe

• Project type: Research and Innovation Action (RIA)

• Duration: 36 months (01/2023 – 12/2025)

• Funding: European Commission (REA)

Consortium The project was a collaboration between an international group of partners (10 partners) from all over the EU.Coordinator:Konnektable Technologies (Ireland).

The City of Martin played a crucial role as one of the main places where the proposed solution was put to the test in real life.

The pilot activities involved:

• choosing and involving a citizens’ jury that truly represents the local people

• participatory workshops where everyone could chat about how AI could be used in public services

• looking at what users need and what they hope to get from it

• trying out AI tools that help people make decisions

• seeing how AI affects the community (like trust, being open and how well people accept it)

• These activities helped us see if the solution worked in practice and also showed us what we could do better.

The ITHACA project achieved several important things:

• We developed a practical idea for an AI platform that helps people get involved in civic life.

• We created ways to evaluate the potential risks and effects of AI.

• We offered some ideas for policymakers to consider.

• We put together a plan for using AI in a way that is both ethical and clear.

• We explored ways to manage data when AI is used.



• The project also helped with: • More people getting involved in what happens in public.

• Better confidence in using digital tools.

• Helping new ideas for smart governance take off.

• Making sure public institutions, universities and tech companies work together better.

BALTEUS was a service provider for the City of Martin to help with project implementation and administrative tasks.

Here’s what we mainly did:

• We prepared and managed the project reports, both the regular ones and the final ones.

• We made sure all the reports followed the rules set by Horizon Europe.

• We gave the City of Martin our expert advice and helped them figure out the best way to do things.

• We kept an eye on how the project was going, especially from a reporting point of view.

• We helped the City of Martin get the final report approved by the European Commission.

We also helped get the final project report ready, making sure it matched the grant agreement and was all set for official submission.