Created in 2010 in collaboration with a series of research institutions and civil society organizations, Barometer of the Quality of Democracy (bqd) aims to audit the quality of democracy in Portugal through realization of a representative survey of population and an institutional expert assessment. Bqd seeks to establish itself as a research program of reference on both national and international level. Beyond its innovative academic value, bqd tends to recommend and promote best practices for empowering the civil society.