In a short blog by Jez Hall, of Shared Future/PB Partners, he looks at the role of mapping and data visualisation as an innovative way to extend the reach of participatory budgeting and put communities ‘on the map’. Much debate exists in the ‘civic tech’ world about which platform or technology best supports participatory budgeting…. Read More
Case studies
Brief overviews of experiences of Participatory Budgeting
Speke Up – Participatory Budgeting in Merseyside 2019
Dr Andrew Fisher connects strength based engagement and participatory budgeting. Find out what happened at Speke Up – Tackling Serious and Organised Crime Through Strengths Based Engagement in Speke Merseyside, a project led by MutualGain. “There is evidence that suggests a strong correlation between low social capital and high levels of crime and disorder. High… Read More
I got goosebumps: Community Voting Day in Haringey
"I thought it was very very interesting, I was excited, I got goosebumps hearing about the projects and I thought this was an amazing thing to do." So said one of the participants in the "Community Voting day", held in Northumberland Park, Tottenham in 2017. Gayle Wallace, Director of G.W Training & Consultancy Ltd managed… Read More
Pushing at the limits: Participatory Budgeting and prisoner rehabilitation in Canada
Jez Hall writes about how PB can push the limits of empowerment to the most unusual of suspects. One of the amazing things about Participatory Budgeting(PB) is how it can push boundaries and break down walls. Even the walls around the criminal justice system? A step too far? Whether its in empowering young people by… Read More
Dundee Decides: Largest single PB in the UK in 2018
PB Partners and the Democratic Society worked with Dundee council on Dundee Decides on an innovative £1.2m PB programme that ran in 2018. PB Partners provided regular strategic advice and guidance to the delivery team and also facilitated an independent review to inform future developments. Demsoc provided advice on the digital platform that underpinned the… Read More
Orchard projects in Leeds are thriving through Participatory Budgeting
Alan Thornton, project worker for Leeds Orchard Live, who are supported by Helping Britain Blossom describes how they used participatory grant-making to distribute £3000. Small scale funding perhaps, yet vital to promoting orchard groups in Leeds . "Leeds is a city with a growing ‘orchard-ing’ culture. And its growing through PB. On Saturday 14 January 2017,… Read More
Participatory Budgeting in Urgent Care: A case study from MutualGain
Between the 2nd and the 8th July 2015 North Tyneside CCG, in collaboration with MutualGain, held three sessions designed to enable the public to influence spending decisions on access to urgent care services. The process used was a new commissioning version of the tried and tested technique of Participatory Budgeting. As part of the exercise,… 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
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
When East meets West. A view of Participatory Budgeting (PB) from the Far East
A guest blog by Susan Ritchie, describing her recent visit to China to exchange learning on PB. The Invitation PB Partners supports Participatory Budgeting as a method of improving democracy, community engagement, and wider social justice across the UK. PB in all of its forms (of which there are many emerging) enables communities or organisations… Read More
