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Rikki Dean is an Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Southampton, where he specializes in democratic theory, public administration, and empirical social science. His research addresses a range of topics related to democratic governance, including the evaluation of participatory governance projects and the implications of new digital technologies for democracy. Before joining Southampton in September 2024, Rikki spent seven years at Goethe University Frankfurt as Deputy Director of the Democratic Innovations Research Unit. He has also held visiting fellowships at Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Innovation and Governance, CEVIPOL at Université Libre de Bruxelles, and the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. Rikki's academic qualifications include a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics and an MSc in Social Policy (Research). He is recognized for his contributions to the field, receiving the Bleddyn Davies Prize for his early career paper and the Richard Titmuss Prize for outstanding scholarship and performance. His current research projects include the i4i project, which examines citizen deliberation and its impacts, and the INSPIRE project, which aims to enhance the inclusivity of participatory policy-making initiatives. Rikki is actively involved in supervising PhD students and teaching courses on topics such as democratic innovations and public administration.