A participatory budget is a method of citizen participation that involves residents in deciding how to allocate financial resources to different city improvement projects. Participatory budgeting processes are complex and require significant technical and communication efforts. Therefore, they are not recommended in municipalities without a strong culture of participation or without adequately trained public employees.
If you are a council member or participation officer and are unsure whether participatory budgeting is suitable for your city, start by answering these questions:Do I have a participation registry with enough email contacts? Has the municipality previously conducted any online citizen participation projects? Is there an active and healthy network of civic associations?If your answer to any of these is no, then unfortunately, it may not be the right time. However, if you answered yes to all, there are some key aspects you should not overlook.
The first step is to allocate a portion of the municipal budget for this purpose. If this is your first time, ensure that the allocated amount does not exceed 2% of the total budget. Also, remember to reserve at least 0.5% of that allocation for the outreach campaign.
There are different methodologies for implementing participatory budgets. The most common process involves asking citizens to submit proposals and gather support. These proposals then go through a technical evaluation, where those that do not meet the criteria are discarded, and the costs of the remaining projects are assessed. Finally, the approved projects proceed to a final vote. This methodology and its variations require substantial effort from municipal staff when evaluating proposals, so it is essential to properly allocate resources and inform public employees in advance to plan for the workload.
An alternative approach is to accept only qualified proposals from entities that wish to carry out the projects - such as companies, associations, and nonprofit organizations. These entities would be responsible for budgeting their proposals, making the evaluation phase less resource-intensive. Additionally, since project submitters have a vested interest in their proposals being selected, they will actively help promote the process. In this model, citizens only participate in the final vote rather than proposing changes themselves.
For municipalities new to participatory budgeting, another option is to turn the process into a simple consultation. The local government presents different spending options - either thematic areas or specific projects - and citizens vote on one or more of them. While this approach is less flexible, it has the advantage of being easy to explain and promote.
Each methodology has its pros and cons. Choose the one that best suits your municipality’s reality and available resources. Once you have selected the methodology, you can determine the digital tools to use for the online process and start planning. Be sure to establish a timeline and gather your team to assign tasks. At Kuorum, we have years of experience advising regional and local governments on citizen participation. If you need external support at any stage of the process, feel free to contact us.
