The Academy of Urbanism is well used to reporting on the innovations that bring about an urban renaissance. In an article by Katy Hawkins the Academy now looks at participatory budgeting (PB) in the USA, the UK and more widely. Following exciting developments in PB in Paris, where PB is being used to spend €426m… Read More
Neighbourhoods
The role of Participatory Budgeting in neighbourhoods
Cheylesmore residents spend nearly £50,000 on community projects
A £48,600 fund for community projects in Cheylesmore, a suburb of Coventry, has been allocated to groups and initiatives after residents came up with ideas about worthwhile projects for the area – and had the final say on the projects they wanted to see funded. Now a number of local groups are set to benefit… Read More
Hebrides Islands rural bus service tendering uses PB to involve residents
On the 20th July 2015 the Island News and Advertiser reported how the community will be involved in deciding how to invest public money in rural bus services in very remote islands of the Outer Hebrides (also known as the Western Isles or Na h-Eileanan Siar in Gaelic). The project, one of the first in… Read More
Up2Us Oldham Big Local… £14,000 up for grabs
People from Clarksfield, Greenacres and Littlemoor were invited to Big Local Oldham’s Up2us event on Saturday 27th June 2-5 at Elim Fountain of Hope Church, Greenacres Road. This was an exciting opportunity for local people to find out about activities in the area and decide how funding will be spent in their own neighbourhood. At… Read More
£18,000 for YOU to spend in the Gallatown area
Gallatown YOU Decide is a new opportunity to increase, continue and support community activities in the Gallatown area. Gallatown is a suburban village outside Kirkcaldy, Fife. In June this year residents of Gallatown had the chance to decide how to spend £18,000 to support opportunities for people to become more creative and take part in… Read More
Iceland adopts participatory democracy over austerity as its solution to the banking crisis… and it works
Iceland was one of the worst hit countries of the international banking crisis of 2008, with many of its major banks bankrupted. Since then, whilst going through some hard times it has been recognised as bouncing back. Participatory democracy, including forms of participatory budgeting, has been at the core of its strategy to re-engage citizens… Read More
Closing the commissioning gap: Supporting social enterprise through Participatory Budgeting
A new blog on the What Works Scotland website highlights the opportunities for stimulating and supporting social enterprise and so plug the leaking of public funding out of a community. Written by Jez Hall of PB Partners, the blog identifies the relationship between participatory budgeting and the recommendations of the Christie Commission, a report in… Read More
Rochdale Residents celebrate with another £47,000 of Our Choice funding
This spring Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) once again rolled out their award-winning “Our Choice” project, which gives residents control of how money is spent improving their neighbourhoods. £47,000 of funding to thirteen neighbourhoods was up for grabs and only local people could decide how it was spent. Since 2013 more than £120,000 has been distributed… Read More
Dereham goes interactive: the first text-voting PB programme in the UK?
‘InterACTIVE funding’ was part of a recent £50,000 Participatory Budgeting (PB) scheme across Breckland, Norfolk, delivered by local organisations in partnership with the Breckland Pride Board. Cllr Lynda Turner, Breckland Council Executive Member for Community and Environmental Services said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for clubs and organisations that just need a little funding to… Read More
Levenshulme Market Fund: An innovation in grass-roots Participatory Budgeting
Levenshulme Market is a social enterprise based in Manchester, that has established a successful community market. It recently held what is probably the first social enterprise led and funded grassroots participatory grant making programme. Using funds generated from within the local community through hiring their market stalls to small businesses throughout the previous year. Money… Read More