Selecting a portfolio of alternatives in Participatory Budgeting based on multicriteria method

Abstract

Participatory Budgeting (PB) emerged with the aim of increasing the participation of civil society in the establishment of actions to be performed by the City Hall, to benefit the population. The PB happens in two rounds. Firstly, the community representatives (delegates) make a list of actions, which are ranked in preliminary stage. Secondly, these actions are chosen by voters in each RPA (Region - Political Administration). Nevertheless, each city has some budget constraints for the implementation of actions. In that perspective, the definition of which actions will be performed it should be negotiated between the delegates and the municipal government. Therefore, there is no structured procedure for alternatives analysis. Thus, this paper proposes to apply Promethee V multi-criteria method in the second round of the PB in order to find a portfolio of feasible alternatives compatible with the city's goal. Nonetheless, it is not intended to eliminate the negotiation phase, but, the decision making process can be more transparent when it uses an appropriated method. The Promethee V considers the actors' preferences, the problem constraints, and also can facilitate the understanding process to conduct negotiations in the PB.