The Role of Participatory Budgeting in Forming an Ecosystem of Civic Participation in State and Municipal Governance

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to substantiate the ecosystem approach as a basis for building a model
 of citizen participation in state and municipal governance, manifested in the laws of the Russian
 Federation, strategic planning documents, and other regulations, as well as in participatory practices
 of budget decisions. The ecosystem of citizen participation in governance is an urgent need for the
 modern stage of development of civil society and the entire complex of state–civil relations in Russia.
 The creation of such an ecosystem can increase the efficiency of state and municipal governance,
 include citizens and civil society institutions in the process of selecting priorities for the actions of
 public authorities, and reduce the protest potential caused by the lack of a comprehensive toolkit for
 citizen participation in governance. Among the first steps toward the formation of this ecosystem is the
 development of a federal law on public participation in governance. This law should become the basis
 for the inclusion in sectoral legislation of provisions governing relations between public authorities and
 citizens directly involved in decision-making on state and municipal governance issues. An important
 role in the deployment of the ecosystem is played by the development and implementation of a set of
 measures aimed at including the issues of citizen participation in the activities of state programs and
 national projects of the Russian Federation, implemented at all levels of public authority. The article
 also defines the basic principles of the development of the civic participation ecosystem.