Youth-focused participatory budgeting
The case of Toledo City Council
In Toledo, the city was somewhat in the middle ground. The City Council had already worked with Kuorum in 2017, when our consultants supported their efforts to modernize participation regulations and launch district assemblies. While there was still much work ahead, solid foundations had been laid.
Data collection for the participation census
At Kuorum, one of the first recommendations we give public sector clients is to create a participation census - a database of email contacts of citizens interested in engaging with the city. This serves as a core group to drive participation in more complex processes. This step had already been completed in Toledo, which allowed us to proceed with the Youth Council’s proposal to launch participatory budgeting for selecting youth leisure projects in 2018.
Supporting the process
There are several strategies for executing participatory budgeting. Which approach would work best in this case? Our consultants analyzed the participation census and the technology being used for online engagement. The participation goals were ambitious, so relying on a single core group wasn’t enough. The solution involved training project authors to campaign for their own proposals, effectively broadening community involvement.
Whether you're looking to open your municipality to continuous online participation or have a specific need to gauge public opinion on a particular topic, contact us and we will advise you with no strings attached.
“The results of the city’s first participatory budgeting project were a resounding success.”
At Kuorum we help people around the world make collective decisions that matter. Tell us your goals and we'll tell you how we can help.
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