Dear friends and colleagues,

the new Steering Committee of the Standing Group held a meeting in Dublin (see attached photo, unfortunately André Bächtiger could not join us). Both André Bächtiger and I felt that it was a good time to step down as convenors, and it is my great pleasure to inform you that the new convenors are Sofie Marien from KU Leuven and Nicole Curato from the University of Canberra. Congratulations!

They will take over the responsibilities immediately. Also the webpage will be updated by their teams. The transition from the current webmaster Marina Lindell at Åbo Akademi University will take place before summer. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Marina for her valuable work with managing the website for the whole time of its existence, almost ten years. As one of the founders of the Standing Group, I also wish to thank Brigitte Geissel and André Bächtiger for convening the SG during these years. 

It feels safe to leave the management of the SG to Nicole and Sofie. Of course, Jane Suiter, André and I will continue on the Steering Committee as elected members. 

The next big event of the SG is the Democratic Innovations section in Wroclav. The section is chaired by Edana Beauvais and Matt Ryan. 

This is a great group, see you around! Best regards, 

Kimmo Grönlund