Since 2017, the Berlin-Mitte district has had its own point of contact for citizen participation. It was set up based on the 2017 Guidelines for Citizen Participation and is operated by district administration staff and partners in the civil society. It is located at the integration-oriented planning coordination of the district authority.

The office is considered an interface between citizens, the district administration and politicians. Its main task is to act as a point of contact for all matters regarding citizen participation. Good citizen participation primarily includes communication in good time, open processes, clear communication, a target group-oriented approach, a willingness to engage in dialogue, commitment and the documentation of participation processes.

The office advises citizens on their options for initiating participation in the plans and projects of the district authority. It informs them of planned and ongoing participation processes and helps to build citizen commitment and self-organisation, for example as part of initiatives and associations.

A key task of the office is to advise specialist departments in the district authority to encourage implementation of the Guidelines for Citizen Participation. It provides an overview of ongoing and planned participation processes and manages the district authority’s plans on the Berlin-wide participation platform mein.berlin.de.