Participatory Budgeting

Summary

Participatory Budgeting refers to involvement of the community in public budget planning and spending decisions. The degree of participation ranges from giving citizens a voice during budget development to actual approval power.

Tool Description

Participatory budgeting is a decision-making process in which community members decide how to spend parts of a public budget. It allows citizens to identify, discuss and prioritize public spending projects and gives them the power to make real decisions about how money is spent.

While the model is flexible and various forms exist, the basic process involves citizens in the analysis, deliberation, decision-making, implementation and monitoring of public spending.

A sample general model is as follows:

  1. Local Officials give guidance on general budget guidelines and may specify spending ceiling.
  2. Residents identify and prioritize local needs and brainstorm ideas to respond to these needs.
  3. Residents develop concrete projects that address the identified needs.
  4. Residents vote for which of these projects should receive funding given budget constraints.
  5. The government implements the chosen projects.
  6. Residents monitor the implementation of these public spending projects.

Porto Alegre, Brazil started the first successful example of participatory budgeting in 1989; the process now occurs annually and begins with instruction from city specialists in technical aspects of city budgeting. Following these sessions, district assemblies elect neighborhood delegates who then meet weekly or biweekly in each district to review project criteria and district needs. At a subsequent regional assembly, regional delegates prioritize district demands and elect councilors to represent all districts and thematic areas (e.g. transportation, economy, etc.) to serve on the Municipal Council of the Budget. This body then balances the demands of each district with available resources to propose an overall municipal budget. The resulting budget is binding, although it can be vetoed by the Mayor.

Participatory Budeting examples are growing quickly throughout the world and starting to reach the U.S., with notable examples in Chicago, New York City, and Portsmouth, NH. The process itself has no particular base costs, but communities starting a participatory budgeting project should be prepared to invest significant time and resources in organizing and outreach.

Summary of Costs

$0-99
Associated Costs
  • Facilitation
  • Project Management

Strengths

  • Local residents, who know best what they need, have a strong voice and get to make real decisions regarding resource allocations that directly affect them.
  • By collaborating with government officials and by directly grappling with the difficult decisions surrounding budget allocations, residents are much more likely to support the ultimate spending decisions that are made in the community.
  • Residents gain a better understanding of the local budgeting process - including realities and challenges of working within the system
  • Public participation in budgeting can increase budget efficiency and cut costs

Limitations

  • So far, there are relatively few successful examples in the U.S.
  • Participatory budgeting also carries a risk of involving only certain segments of the local community and thereby ignoring the needs of less vocal groups.

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Submitted By: emytkowicz
Last Updated: August 6, 2012, 1:03 pm

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