Len Duvall, Assembly Member for London and chair of the GLA oversight committee has called for Mayor Sadiq Khan to bring in a participatory budget for London. In an article on the MayorWatch website, (where it was reported that the public consultation on last year’s London budget drew just 12 responses, compared to Paris, that… Read More
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Participatory Budgeting in the UK and internationally
Free seminar on Participatory Budgeting in Cardiff on 18th April 2018
PB Partners held a free introduction to the principles and practice of Participatory Budgeting, delivered in conjunction with the Wales Open Government Network and ERS Cymru on the 18th April 2018. At this interactive workshop at Butetown Community Centre in Cardiff we introduced best practice in participatory budgeting (PB), built on years of experience in… Read More
Interest in Participatory Budgeting grows in Wales
The UK PB Network and PB partners have been promoting PB in the UK since 2012. Following great success in Scotland which has seen nearly £5m invested in growing PB by the Scottish Government the idea is taking off. PB partners has been contributing to new initiatives in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland,… Read More
Hear the Voice, Make the Change: Guide to evaluating PB processes
Released in June 2017 this comprehensive guide from PB Partners lays out 10 essential actions to record, monitor and evaluate the impact of a PB programme. This briefing has been produced in response to Scotland’s Community Choices programme and aims to support public sector organisations wishing to evaluate their ‘mainstream’ Participatory Budgeting (PB) initiatives. The… Read More
2,500 people vote on projects to end Islamophobia in Edinburgh
It is a sad but undeniable fact that post Brexit levels of hate crime have risen across some parts of the UK, most notably England and Wales. Intolerance, ignorance, prejudice and inequality have emerged as communities try to make sense of the Brexit impact on society. Analysis of this information and the conceptual intelligence held… Read More
Edinburgh Health Matters: The votes are in!
Over December 2016 people in South West Edinburgh were given the opportunity to vote on what community health projects they would like funded. Projects were to be for no more than £5000 and must demonstrate how they meet the health needs of the community. Voting was launched at a health promotion event at St Martin’s… Read More
What Works in Participatory Budgeting: Taking stock and thinking ahead in Scotland
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
£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.
