In addition to the various participatory approaches applied to ensure stakeholder group integration in the development and implementation of both the NSTRAT and the ÖSTRAT, a strategy group was established in 2002 in order to develop guidance for participation in relation to SD and to interlink the actors working in this field in Austria. For further information, please visit the following website: www.partizipation.at.

In July 2008, the Council of Ministers approved the new work sheets for public participation. These standards should be applied by the administration when developing programmes and policies.

The outcomes of these standards and the work of the strategy group aimed at:

• Within the IMAG (see above) and in the context of the preparations of the VNR (see above), specific stakeholders, including social partners, NGOs and representatives of scientific community, are informed and invited to meetings on a regular basis.
• The stakeholders provide their inputs as members of the VNR Editorial Committee in all phases of preparation of the VNR. The relevant stakeholders for elaborating the VNR were determined in a participatory and transparent manner by the VNR Editing Group that consists of the IMAG and five ministries:
• the Federal Chancellery, Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs, Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, the Federal Ministry of Digital and Economic Affairs and the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection. The members of the VNR editorial Committee inter alia include representatives of social partners, NGOs such as SDG Watch Austria, and the scientific community.

Within the last months, there is a new attempt of the Federal Ministry for Climate Action to update the existing website www.partizipation.at and include major ongoing participation activities.