Chicago was the first significant participatory budgeting programme in the USA. Under the guidance of Alderman Joe Moore, who was also a participant on a learning exchange to the UK in 2013 that spurred on new PB work in Scotland it has expanded and become more structured, and there is now a well developed website… Read More
News
Latest news about Participatory Budgeting
State of the North report highlights how impotent citizens feel
IPPR North is the only major thinktank with a Northern base, which gives it a lot of credibility when talking about issues like a new northern renaissance. Policies like DevoManc, elected mayors, business rates reform and other measures aim to devolve power and liberate local government from over-management by Whitehall. However IPPR North believes there… Read More
Video address by Alex Neil MSP to 2015 PB Network Unconference
Video address to the conference by Alex Neil MSP, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners’ Rights. View report on the 2015 PB Network Unconference
Call for Participatory Budgeting to expand to the whole of New York
We have reported a few times on the grow of Participatory Budgeting in New York, from relatively modest beginnings in four districts, spending around $4m dollars, to over half the city with an annual budget closer to $32m. In a new article from the Gotham Gazette the author and contributors ask why it doesn’t now… Read More
The 2015 PB Network Unconference report
On the 26th October 2015 the PB Network held a highly successful conference at the Innovate rooms, Birmingham. Over 70 leading academics, practitioners, activists and consultants gathered to share their learning in a stimulating range of workshops, break out groups and discussions. We were particularly proud to receive the support of Alex Neil MSP who… Read More
How do we know our participatory budgeting is working? Measure it!
A shared language to evaluate PB processes. That was the goal. How best to compare and contrast, and also validate the effectiveness of participatory budgeting(PB) has been addressed in the USA through a new research programme. There are many measures of success in PB but with the release of 15 key metrics for PB evaluation… Read More
Durham CC video on using PB for mainstream budget consultation
In 2013 Durham County Council were facing some tough financial decisions. So they developed a simple interactive board game to involve citizens in these difficult debates. Using a successful round of participatory budgeting distribution days, that helped Durham win recognition as a model of best practice in community engagement, they asked some of the 11,000… Read More
Decaffeinated Participation: Where has the social justice in Participatory Budgeting gone?
Archon Fung of Harvard University is one of the leading academics in the field of participatory democracy, and in a newly published article doesn’t pull his punches, calling many participatory programmes running worldwide PB-Lite… a form of decaffeinated politics, that are missing some essential ingredients. Fung believes "Social justice receded from the agenda of participatory… Read More
Wrexham and Flintshire groups benefit from proceeds of crime money
Groups across North Wales are able to grab back cash from criminals through a Participatory Budgeting initiative run by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner. As reported in the Leader Newspaper community groups in Wrexham and Flintshire to bid for a share of a £42,000 pot of money seized from criminals. The scheme has… Read More
Devo Manc — an opportunity missed to devolve power beyond the town hall steps?
Guest Blog by Jez Hall, of Shared Future cic and PB Partners In a few days, after the Conservative Party winds up its Manchester conference visit, and the champagne corks have stopped popping, leaders of third sector organisations in Manchester will be gathering to soberly debate the implications of DevoManc, framed round the question “Do… Read More
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