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This document is a product of a Council of Europe project which is taking place in four phases during 2014-17. The first phase has been devoted to the development of a conceptual model of the competences which citizens require to participate effectively in a culture of democracy. This document describes the model and the methods that were used to develop it. The document is aimed at readers who wish to understand the underlying assumptions and technical details of the model. Phase two of the project will be devoted to the development of descriptors (i.e. statements or descriptions of what a person is able to do if they have mastered the various competences that are specified by the model), phase three to ascertaining whether it is possible to assign the descriptors to levels of proficiency, and phase four to the production of supporting documentation. This documentation will be addressed to educational practitioners and policy makers, and will provide a less technical description of the current competence model. It will also explain how the model and the descriptors can be used to assist curriculum design, pedagogical design and the development of new forms of assessment (for use in either selfassessment or assessment by others). All of the materials that are produced by the project will eventually be incorporated into a Council of Europe reference framework of competences for democratic culture. Further information about the project is available from the project website: www.coe.int/competences