The Institute for Democracy and Participation Research (IDPF) at the University of Wuppertal has existed since 1975, when it was established as the 'Citizen Participation Research Centre'. Here, among other things, the aleatory - i.e. based on random selection - participation procedure of the planning cell was developed and systematised. It gives citizens the opportunity to contribute their opinions, life experience and skills to political decision-making processes in a constructive and non-interest-driven way.

Between 2007 and 2022, the Institute for Democracy and Participation Research (IDPF) was headed by Prof Dr Hans J. Lietzmann. Since 2023, Prof Dr Detlef Sack has been Chairman of the Board and Nora Freier Deputy Chairwoman. The team at the research centre has extensive experience in the organisation, implementation and evaluation of planning cells and related formats such as citizens' forums, citizen juries, future workshops, open space, world café, whole social change, etc.

As a university institute of the university of Wuppertal, the research centre is at the cutting edge of methodological development and is committed to the scientific supervision of its own and third-party methods as well as to continuous further development. The IDPF researches and evaluates the effects of direct democratic and participatory procedures and analyses the practical implementation of this form of citizen participation with regard to its close integration with the requirements and routines of conventional political processes.