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used interchangeably. While both are generally used to indicate a processthrough which citizens have a voice in public policy decisions, both havedistinctively different meanings and convey little insight into the process theyseek to describe.With other words, both concepts might seem similar, but they have differingviews of the role that citizens should play. The key difference betweenparticipation and engagement is that citizen engagement requires an active,intentional dialogue between citizens and public decision makers whereascitizen participation can come from citizens only (Lodewijckx, 2020).Fig. 1.3.1 Citizen engagement vs citizen participationSource: author by I. Lodewijckx, 2020Civic participation and engagement involve developing the combination ofknowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make a difference in civic lifethrough both political and non-political processes. Citizens and groups ofcitizens participate in their community in many ways. There are many categoriesof civic participation and the Center for Civic Engagement of Illinois StateUniversity proposes a list (Center for Civic Engagement, 2023): 44Citizen Engagement is:n a top-down initiative, initiated by governments. n Its nature is formal: governments provide citizens with the necessary tools to get involved in decision-making.n Its main challenges are identifying what is important for citizens, convincing them to engage, and offeringthem all the necessary information to make well-founded decisions.Citizen Participation isn a bottom-up initiative, initiated by citizens.n Its nature is informal: it does not require official rules, but also cannot be applied to all policy projects.n Its main challenges are mobilising enough citizensupport and targeting larger policy domains that require higher levels of inclusiveness and awareness.1 Citizen Commitment