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
News
Hear the Voice, Make the Change: Guide to evaluating PB processes
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.
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
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
