What Works Scotland (WWS) has produced a new paper presenting findings and reflections from ongoing research in the WWS Participatory Budgeting programme, and signposting future directions for inquiry and practice. Key Points from the research are: Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic innovation that is becoming central to community empowerment and public service reform in… Read More
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Participatory Budgeting in the UK and internationally
£50,000 available to tackle poor mental health in North Ayrshire
People from across North Ayrshire are being offered the chance to stake their claim for up to £1,250 for worthy projects which will improve the lives of others. A total of £50,000 is up for grabs in the participatory budgeting event which aims to give financial backing to projects and programmes which make a positive… Read More
Orchard projects in Leeds are thriving through Participatory Budgeting
Leeds is a city with a growing ‘orchard-ing’ culture. Alan Thornton, project worker for Leeds Orchard Live, who are supported by Helping Britain Blossom describes how they used participatory grant-making on Saturday 14 January 2017 to distribute £3000. Small scale funding perhaps, yet vital to promoting orchard groups in Leeds . As well as handing out… Read More
Video: Participatory Budgeting in Edinburgh
Participatory budgeting (PB) allows communities to be directly involved in decisions on the priorities and spending of public budgets. In Edinburgh, PB has been implemented since 2010. As an approach it can offer significant benefits in increasing community participation, improving the effectiveness of public spending and promoting greater community cohesion.
D-day for the Carrick group funding project is approaching
North Carrick groups can grab their share of an £80,000 funding pot. The £80,000 fund is awarded from the Scottish Government’s Community Choices Fund, which has been set up to support Participatory Budgeting (PB), a process which allows local people to make decisions on local spending priorities. If you live, work or volunteer in North… Read More
Participatory Budgeting: What are Parisians dreaming about?
The City of Paris has been running the largest scale Participatory Budgeting process in Europe. As part of an international study visit to Paris in December 2016 by representatives of Glasgow and Fife Community Planning Partnerships, enabled by What Works Scotland, a report by "Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme"(APUR) into the types of projects proposed in 2015… Read More
Tackling Islamophobia in Edinburgh: Building bridges not walls?
‘Shared Vision – Your Decision’ is an Edinburgh based initiative which enables local people to decide how public money is spent in eradicating Islamophobia and associated prejudice behaviour. Police Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and The Scottish Government have made a total of £40,000 available as part of their ongoing commitment to addressing Islamophobia across Edinburgh…. Read More
Oor Bit – Places and Spaces in Fife: The results are in!
THE results of Fife Council’s “Oor Bit” consultation are in. Over 1,400 people from the Cowdenbeath area have been voting on their favourite local projects as part of a bid to involve the community in deciding local spending priorities. And now 14 projects close to people’s hearts will be funded to the tune of £250,000…. Read More
10 principles for fiscal transparency: A GIFT to open government?
There are many reason to use Participatory Budgeting. Such as to inspire citizens to take greater responsibility within their community, or to strengthen the democratic mandate of elected officials. A significant additional reason is to promote open and transparent government, at all levels. As a piece of municipal ‘graffiti’ in Brazil, the home of Participatory… Read More
Participatory funding radical grassroots groups through the Edge Fund
The Edge Fund uses a highly participatory process, evolved over 6 cycles, to make small grants to radical groups that might otherwise struggle to find funding. Like the African Rainbow Family, Manchester (who received £3,000). A group which is run by its 60 LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees members, with lived experiences of persecution based… Read More
