Participatory Budgeting:
A Roadmap for Municipal
Government
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Participatory Budgeting: An Introduction
What is
it?
Who is
involved?
Why do
we need
it?
Allegretti 2013,
Santos 1998
• Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a
democratic engagement strategy that
enables citizens to work in
partnership with government to
allocate a portion of the funds of a
municipal budget (called discretionary
funds) for community-driven projects
• This joint management gives citizens
an opportunity to determine how
budget funds should be allocated and
encourages government
accountability and citizen
engagement with political institutions
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
History & Background of Participatory Budgeting
Latin America: Emerging from dictatorial rule, left-leaning
political parties promoted active democracy, and PB emerged in
the slums of Porto Alegre, Brazil in the 1980s
United Kingdom: The World Social Forum in 2001 brought
together the international aid community and PB was exported
and adapted to “Big Society” policy initiatives
North America: PB currently being adopted in cities like Chicago,
New York, Guelph, Toronto, & Calgary, by municipality, ward, or
community group
Röcke 2007, Better
Budget TO 2014
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Literature Review of Participatory Budgeting
Latin America:
Cabannes 2004,
Santos 1998, Wampler
2013, Avritzer 2000
United Kingdom:
Blakey 2008, PB Unit
2012, CPI 2001 &
2002, Rural Action
Yorkshire 2011
Canada:
Lerner 2006, TCHC
2013, City of Calgary
2011, Pinnington
2009, Better Budget
TO 2014
United States:
Lerner 2010 & 2011,
Urban Justice Center
2013
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Metrics for Evaluating Participatory Budgeting
• The ability to do something without
wasting materials, time, or energy
Efficiency
Measurability
Representation
Participation
Rossman &Shanahan
2013, Blakey 2008,
Cabannes 2004
• An estimate of what is to be
expected
• The intentional inclusion of the
poor and marginalized
• The ongoing relationship &
responsibility among stakeholders
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
The Current Municipal Budget Process
• Operating: 2-3 year cycle
Municipal Budgets
• Capital: generally a 5 year cycle
Budgets
developed
by City
admins
Hadden & Lerner
2011, Kasdan 2013
Presented
to City
Council for
debate &
approval
Approval
granted
Budget
carried out
by relevant
dept’s &
units
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Where Can PB fit in the Budget Cycle?
Total Budget
Discretionary
Budget
• Operating and Capital budget
funds allocated during the
budget development process
• Small pot of money may be set
aside as “discretionary funds”
for decision makers
• Politicians and community
groups can initiate PB exercise
and use some of this money to
fund community-driven projects
Urban Justice
Center 2013
Amount Allocated
Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
for PB Participatory
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Phase 1: Initiate the Design
Make PB a
Municipal
Government
Priority
Identify and
Promote the
Availability of
Discretionary
Funds
Identify
Stakeholders:
Experts, Citizens,
Community
Leaders
Pinnington 2009, PB
Unit 2012, Huck 2011
Design
Documents,
Policies &
Procedures
Initiate Rollout through a
Pilot Project
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Phase 2: Manage the Cycle
Public Meeting held to
meet Stakeholders
and Initiate the PB
Exercise
Evaluation,
Implementation &
Monitoring of PB
Projects
Participants Vote on
Projects to Receive
Funding
Urban Justice
Center 2013
Representatives
learn about PB,
Build Skills,
Develop Project
Proposals
Representatives
Present their Project
Proposals
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Challenges to Implementing Participatory Budgeting
• Identifying & cultivating grassroots &
institutional interest, commitment
Challenges
• Legislative framework hinders
municipalities’ control of financial
resources
• Developing appropriate administrative
procedures to identify & set aside PB funds
• Developing processes to ensure funds
allocated in transparent & democratic
manner
Hadden & Lerner
2011, Nieuwland 2003
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Challenges to Sustaining Participatory Budgeting
Democratic
• Representation of marginalized groups
• Ensuring process not co-opted by those
with more knowledge, power, influence
• Citizen engagement over long budget cycle
Economic
• Shrinking availability of discretionary funds
• Lack of revenue streams for municipalities
• Corrosive effect of conflict among PB
participants regarding funding allocation
Cabannes 2004, Lerner
& Van Wagner 2006
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Designing Success: Policy Recommendations
• Make PB a government priority & establish long-term funding
• Begin with pilot project & scale up
• Establish strategy committee for Municipal governments
• Establish citizen engagement body
• Create transparent policies, clear governance & accountability,
metrics to measure success
• Develop training tools ie. Grant-scoring matrices, checklists
• Focus on inclusivity and empowerment
• Invest in online tools for voting and engagement
Better Budget TO 2014,
PB Unit 2012, Hadden
& Lerner 2011
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
A Few Success Stories!
Since 1997, the Guelph
Neighbourhood Support
Coalition comprised of
12 community groups
has been engaged in PB
Manchester, North Yorkshire
and Salford, UK engage in PB
with the support of the
Church Action on Poverty, a
government-funded agency
In 2011/12 eight
Council Districts in NYC
participated in a PB
exercise to allocate $10
million of public funds
Toronto Community
Housing engages
residents in PB to
allocate Capital funds to
improve housing and
common elements
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Significance & Implications
• Citizens are looking for civic engagement
opportunities
• Successful PB initiatives achieve a balance of
efficiency, measurability, representation, &
participation
• Existing PB initiatives demonstrate this is an
appropriate tool for municipal governments
• Government can tap into the transformative power
of PB and engage in a process of democratic renewal
& citizen empowerment
Allegretti 2013,
Pinnington 2009
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB
Thank you!
Gwen Hughes
Master of Arts, Public Policy and Administration
Ryerson University
Twitter: @gwengael
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/GwenHughes
Email: [email protected]
Participatory Budgeting: A Roadmap for Municipal Government
2014 National Student Thought Leadership Award
Gwen Hughes, Ryerson University, Master of Public Policy & Administration
66th IPAC National Annual Conference, Edmonton, AB