Participatory Budgeting Process Research Articles

Krakow's Participatory School Budget as an Example of Civic Education

An example of civic education is the participatory school budget used in Poland. In the participatory budget training, students submit their own ideas, create projects, and then choose those that they think are the most attractive and important. The idea for a participatory school budget was born from the desire to adapt the classic participatory budget process to the needs of a small, local community, such as a school. Taking part in this type of project allows students to co-decide about matters in their immediate environment, i.e. the school. However, in the longer term, it is intended to prepare them to engage in the classic citizen budget, which is carried out in local government units in Poland. The aim of the article is to briefly present the origins and idea of the classic participatory budget, but primarily to focus on the participatory school budget, in particular in relation to a specific example, which is the participatory school budget carried out in one of the Polish cities – Krakow. The article also includes information about the campaign of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education promoting participatory budgeting in schools. Document analysis and critical content analysis, as well as historical and comparative methods were used to write the article.

The Decentralised Governance in Kenya: Implications on Citizen Participation in the Local Governance

Abstract This study sought to examine the extent to which decentralisation efforts have affected citizen participation in local governance in Kenya. Survey research designs was employed. 371 questionnaires were administered and 16 interview conducted with key stakeholders. The findings revealed that decentralisation influences citizen participation in devolved Governance. 77.3% of the respondents agreed decentralization had promoted political entrepreneurship while 75% contended that decentralization had influenced citizen participation in development of policies and legislation. Moreover, 57.2% of the respondents felt that citizen participation in decentralized policy-making was high while 69% of the respondents were satisfied that decentralization had made it possible for citizens to participate in county budgeting. Only 49% approved the effectiveness of decentralization in promoting citizen participation in participatory budgeting and planning process. The national and county governments should put in place measures to safeguard the independence of the counties in realizing the objective of citizen participation in governance.

Participatory budgeting in Hrubieszów, Poland, as an example of residents' sustainable participation in shaping public expenditure

The article contains a case study of residents' participation in the process of shaping the city's public expenditure through participatory budgeting. The analyzed data were collected as part of the National Science Center [anonymyzed]. The research methods and tools used in the study included desk research, CAWI, a survey and scenario interviews. The case of Hrubieszów is only a part of our research that deserves a closer look due to the pro-participatory attitude of the significant number of the city officials, social activists, and residents. There is also a certain level of enthusiasm, despite the fact that participatory budgeting arrived in this city relatively late - in 2017. Another interesting fact is that it is the smallest participatory budget among the twelve Polish cities thoroughly examined in our project. In this article we will present the functioning of this process both from the perspective of the local authorities and officials, as well as the project applicants and residents involved in the participatory budgeting process. In our analysis we are looking for local signs of readiness for cooperation which, in favorable conditions, focus on deliberative moments and are followed by a deliberative stance, constituting a basis for pro-participation activities.

Digital Rights to the City: Local Practices and Negotiations of Urban Space on Decidim

The organization, management, and production of urban space through digital information and communication technologies have become a central means for governing urban life. To overcome a lack of citizen-centered practices in today’s smart cities, governments and municipalities institutionalize citizen-centered digital infrastructures such as Decidim, a digital infrastructure proposing non-corporate, decentralized, and collaborative forms of digital production to evoke participatory governance practices and ultimately social transformation (Barandiaran et al., 2018). Swiss city administrations have adapted the Decidim platform for participatory budgeting processes and city-wide participation platforms since 2019. This article explores the process of institutional adoption, focusing on how the use of Decidim impacts local practices and negotiations for governing urban space. The examination of the Decidim platform in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Lucerne will be framed by re-conceptualizing Lefebvre’s right to the city in the age of digital transformation. The findings show that for a successful introduction of the Decidim platform based on principles of the right to the city (a) local needs for a new digital democratic instrument need to be pre-existent, (b) government employees must implement a scope of action which allows organized civil society and grassroots initiatives to appropriate the infrastructure for their own purposes, and (c) local practices of hybrid communication and organizing must be aligned with the structure of the platform. Nevertheless, digital participation tools such as Decidim cannot solve entrenched inequalities such as the financialization of land, the issue of disadvantaged neighborhoods, or the absence of voting rights for certain communities. Therefore, city administrations need to integrate hybrid participation strategies which prioritise collective power over distributive power as well as tackle urban inequalities through political means.

Investigating young people’s involvement in participatory budgeting

It is widely believed that assisting young people to participate in community affairs is a potent way to contribute to both youth and community development. One way in which youth can become involved in their communities is through participatory budgeting (PB) processes. This study investigates young people’s understanding of, and experience with, the PB process organized by Toronto Community Housing in Canada. The findings of our qualitative study suggest that some youth understand the primary purpose of PB to be the betterment of the community as a whole; that motivation to become involved can be enhanced through appropriate identity-formation and adult support; and that youth can serve as a litmus test for the fairness of the deliberative practices associated with PB.

Institutional Capacity and Implementation of Financial Management Regulatory Framework in Devolved Governments in Kenya: A Case of Embu County

Between 2013 and 2022, the county government of Embu faced persistent challenges in public resource management, leading to unfavorable audit opinions despite guidance from the Public Finance Management. Reports from the auditor general (2017, 2019, 2021), the controller of the budget (2019, 2020, 2022), and internal financial documents highlighted issues such as inefficiency, poor budget management obstructing development, low absorption capacity, and misalignment with the integrated development plan. This study investigated the effect of revenue, information sharing, budgeting, and expenditure management capacities on the implementation of the Financial Management Regulatory Framework in Embu County, Kenya. The study is anchored on the agency theory, institutional theory and resource dependency theory. Descriptive research design was adopted for this study, focusing intently on Embu County as the epicenter of the investigation. The research participants comprised 65 senior administrators well-versed in the nuances of the Public Finance Act of 2012. Due to the manageable size of the target population, a census study approach was adopted, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Both primary and secondary data sources were tapped into. Primary data collection methods included structured questionnaires meticulously designed to extract specific insights, in-depth interviews for nuanced perspectives, and credible reports from authoritative sources. Secondary data, vital for contextualizing the primary findings, were sourced from a plethora of academic books, scholarly journals, and previously conducted research studies. The collected data was analyzed using a combination of descriptive statistics portrayed by percentages, mean scores, median charts and graphs. The inferential statistical analyses used is done through Anova, regression and R-squared. The study unearthed critical insights into the existing financial management capacities within Embu County. The findings collectively underscore the integral role of various capacities - revenue management, information sharing, budget making, and expenditure management - in ensuring robust financial accountability. Through examination of these capacities, the study illuminates the interconnections between efficient financial practices and regulatory compliance. The conclusion drawn from these findings emphasized the pressing need for strategic interventions within Embu County's financial management system. The study made the following recommendations: To enhance revenue management, the county was advised to overhaul its revenue collection systems, employing innovative technologies for efficiency and accuracy. Information sharing mechanisms were recommended to be streamlined, ensuring real-time communication between various governmental bodies and departments. Participatory budgeting processes, involving both public and administrative stakeholders, were recommended to instill transparency and community-driven decision-making. Furthermore, robust internal control systems for expenditure management were deemed imperative, necessitating the implementation of stringent audit protocols and oversight measures.

Technocracy for the People? The Impact of Government-Imposed Democratic Innovations on Governance and Citizen Well-Being

Despite participatory institutions’ increasing ubiquity, we know little about their effects on governance and well-being. What we do know comes largely from Brazil, where positive outcomes have been attributed to civil society’s role in implementation. Often, however, participatory institutions are imposed by national governments, with little civil society engagement. In these cases, scholars have argued, participatory institutions are unlikely to improve governance and well-being, as civil society is not present to unlock the institutions’ potential. We test this proposition in Peru, the first country featuring government mandated participatory institutions for all subnational governments. We find, surprisingly, that Peru’s participatory budgeting process increased pro-poor spending and improved citizen’s quality of life. We attribute these outcomes to reduced information asymmetries, made possible by the central role played by an influential and autonomous government agency. We employ a unique panel dataset, as well as an original survey and extensive interviews with government and civil society actors.

Testing participatory budgeting voting design: Two cases from the city of Kitchener

ABSTRACT Participatory budgeting is an emerging space for designing democratic processes. Findings in political science (e.g. Duverger, 1959; Lijphardt, 2012) and social choice theory (e.g. Arrow, 1951) suggest that voting systems strongly shape the political dynamics of their societies, and that they are underexplored in participatory budgeting. This paper presents the results of two action research cases using different participatory budgeting voting processes in the City of Kitchener in Ontario, Canada. Our findings suggest that participatory budgeting processes produce different results from standard planning approaches, with voter-generated results being more popular than the staff-led designs. Moreover, different vote-calculation methods produced different bundles of goods, affirming that voting system design matters in participatory budgeting processes. These results matter for both the building of public trust in these processes and in the effectiveness of participatory budgeting for managing public finances.

Incorporating Time into Policy Transfer Studies: A Comparative Analysis of the Transnational Policy Process of Conditional Cash Transfers and Participatory Budgeting

The policy transfer literature has addressed the reasons, processes, and impacts of traveling policies. As some globally diffused policies enter their third decade of circulation, it becomes pertinent to ask: How does diffusion change over time? To examine the relevance of time for policy transfer studies, this article compares the long-lasting diffusion of Conditional Cash Transfers and of Participatory Budgeting. The analysis presented allows for the understanding of how policy diffusion mutates to adapt to new constraints in a large time scale and policy transfer space. It also allows for a broader understanding of the transnational policy process.

Designing for inclusion and designing for exclusion: The influence of digital tools on political inclusion in Medellín’s participatory budgeting process

ABSTRACT A growing number of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used worldwide to support participatory budgeting, a process that allows citizens to decide how to spend part of the public budget. Nevertheless, the effects of ICTs on political inclusion in participatory budgeting processes remain underexplored in the literature. This paper aims at contributing to the cited scholarship. The research takes the form of a qualitative case study of the participatory budgeting process in Medellín, Colombia’s second-biggest city, from its launch as a city-wide policy in 2004, until its last regulatory change in 2017. The article analyzes the influence of the use of ICTs in Medellín’s participatory budgeting process on political inclusion in the view of the process participants. The qualitative data collected suggests that ICTs can change the power dynamics in Medellín’s participatory budgeting process; nevertheless, their use has mixed results, depending on how they are designed and implemented.

Sustainable circular cities? Analysing urban circular economy policies in Amsterdam, Glasgow, and Copenhagen

ABSTRACT Cities play a central role in the circular economy (CE) as they are important centres of production and consumption, responsible for 80% of global GDP. European cities are particularly important due to their position of power in the global economy as major markets, and places of industrial and social innovation. Yet urban CE policies and discourses remain poorly researched and understood. This paper addresses this research gap by analysing and comparing the CE policies and discourses in different European cities to draw critical insights and recommendations. It does so by first reviewing academic literature on urban CE policies to develop a new conceptual framework to analyse CE discourses and policies. This framework is then used to analyse and compare the CE policies of three European cities: Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. Results show that technocentric approaches to CE are dominant in the three cities. Moreover, they have very limited social justice policies for a fair distribution of the costs and benefits of a CE transition. Key policy recommendations to address these shortcomings are thus proposed. The insights brought about by this paper are valuable for both practitioners and academics seeking to improve urban CE policies.

JOB INVOLVEMENT AND JOB RELEVANT INFORMATION IN MODERATING BUDGETING PARTICIPATION ON BUDGETARY SLACK

Budgetary slack frequently happens in local governments. This can also occur due to indications of individual behavior lowering the income target to facilitate the achievement of local government budgets. The purpose of the study was to examine and analyze job involvement and job relevant information moderating budgetary participation on budgetary slack with empirical study on the regency of Sijunjung. The sample of this research is echelon II, III and IV officials in government of Sijunjung Regency. The sampling technique use in this study is a purposive sampling technique. The sample used in this studi were 59 respondents. The analysis of Partial Least Square (PLS) based on variance is the analytical technique used in this research. The results of the study found that budgetary participation has a positive and significant effect on the level of budget slack reduction. Job involvement was not evidenced to moderate the effect of budgetary participation on the level of budget slack reduction while job relevant information was evidenced to moderate the effect of budgetary participation on the level of budget slack reduction and is in quacy moderation. Suggestions for further research should be to examine the entire regional apparatus organization (OPD) in Sijunjung Regency to see budget slack in the budget preparation process and how employee involvement and information can reduce gaps in employee participation in budget preparation. In the participatory budgeting process, the government must consider the factors that influence budget participation, which can have an impact on budgetary slack, such as job involvement and job relevant information.

Learning through online participation: A longitudinal analysis of participatory budgeting using Big Data indicators

Local authorities increasingly employ digital platforms to facilitate public engagement in participatory budgeting processes. This creates opportunities for and challenges in synthesizing citizens’ voices online in an iterated cycle, requiring a systematic tool to monitor democratic quality and produce formative feedback. In this paper, we demonstrate how cases of online deliberation can be compared longitudinally by using six Big Data-based, automated indicators of deliberative quality. Longitudinal comparison is a way of setting a reference point that helps practitioners, designers, and researchers of participatory processes to interpret analytics and evaluative findings in a meaningful way. By comparing the two rounds of OmaStadi, we found that the levels of participation remain low but that the continuity and responsiveness of online deliberation developed positively.

Participatory Budgeting as the Instrument of Technologically Supported Dialogue in Cracow, Poland

Abstract Ordinary citizens today support the local decision-making authorities in the domain of public spending using the instrument of participatory budgeting. The situation is of particular interest in Cracow, the second largest city in Poland in terms of the number of residents, as it stands out for its intensive and advanced use of technology. Here, participatory budgeting is a formalized, multi-stage procedure, composed of an information and education campaign, preparation and submission of projects, verification of submitted projects, submission and examination of protests, voting, implementing of projects, and informing about the concluded projects. Using participatory budgeting, the residents communicate their needs and obtain funds to satisfy them. Participatory budgeting covers on average 0.5% of the municipal budget and is decided by 5–7% of Cracow’s residents. The research covers the years 2019–2021 and takes into consideration the changes resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. The article aims to examine the coexistence of forms of communication, supporting dialogue between residents and local officials in the participatory budgeting process. According to the adopted hypothesis, the two forms of communication used within participatory budgeting—the traditional ones and information and communication technologies (ICTs)—are not separated but are integrated into governance process and reinforce each other. The literature, legal provisions, the website on participatory budgeting, media information, social media, and evaluation reports based on qualitative and quantitative methods were analyzed. The results show that the introduction of participatory budgeting resulted in a new type of dialogue and relationship between residents and local officials, based on the traditional tools of communication and ICTs. ICTs cannot replace the traditional forms of communication but their potential should be used to a greater extent. As both forms of communication, direct and indirect (technologically supported), coexist and have their own advantages and limitations, especially under normal, non-epidemic conditions, the two should facilitate and reinforce each other.

Understanding Public Participation as a Mechanism Affecting Government Fiscal Outcomes: Theory and Evidence From Participatory Budgeting

AbstractThis study aims to advance our knowledge about the role of public participation in formulating budgetary decisions of local governments. By focusing on participatory budgeting as a prominent form of public participation in the budgetary process, we posit that participatory budgeting serves two important roles in aligning the fiscal outcomes of local governments with citizen preferences: (1) increased transparency of the local budget and (2) improved budget literacy of citizens. This study investigates a link between participatory budgeting and the fiscal outcomes of local governments by utilizing data drawn from Korean local governments for seven fiscal years. Employing instrumental variable regression to address endogeneity, there is strong evidence that public participation and deliberation during the participatory budgeting process have a positive association with the fiscal balance. There is also weak evidence that the authority delegated to participatory budgeting participants affects the fiscal balance. The findings of this study imply that it is the quality of public participation that matters in holding the government accountable for its fiscal decisions.

A case study on Participatory Health Planning and Budgeting in Somali Region of Ethiopia

Participatory planning and budgeting aims to democratically allocate public money for local services, enabling communities to decide how public funds are spent and the monitoring of the services. This case study described the process and outcome of a pilot project on participatory planning and budgeting in the health sector in 6 project woredas (districts) in Somali region of Ethiopia. The Social Accountability Committee members were selected using the World Bank’s framework on accountability. The community members represented by the actively participated in all stages of the planning and budgeting process leading to the development of woreda health Joint Action Plans (JAPs) which are community prioritized health activities. Eighteen (49%) of the 37 activities in the Joint Action Plans were included in the woreda annual health budget which ranged from 29% to 80% across the 6 woredas. In addition, during the first half of the fiscal year, implementation has started in 10 (56%) of the 18 JAPs activities budgeted in the annual health woreda plans and ranged from 0% to 75% across the 6 woredas. The study highlighted the feasibility of engaging the community in participatory planning and budgeting process which resulted in allocation of woreda annual health budget to some of the prioritized items in the Joint Action Plans. In the bid to ensure sustainability, government ownership and ensure citizens’ participation, the fund for the participatory budgeting process should be included in the woreda annual budget and proportion of the annual budget should be designated to the implementation and monitoring of the Joint Action Plans through appropriate legislation.

University-Community Engagement: Formation of New Collaboration Patterns in Participatory Budgeting Process

Abstract Promoting public participation in urban processes has long been a critical issue in discussions about urban governance. However, despite the advantages of more progressive and inclusive city governance, participatory budgeting (PB) often faces challenges in ensuring collaboration between different stakeholders involved. Not always do the involved parties have adequate resources to lead the brainstormed ideas to a tangible project application. In recent decades universities are supporting partnerships, grassroots projects and media conversations to take an active part in the development of cities. In addition to the wish of making research results available to a wider public and increasing the chances of making use of them, universities are also interested in the co-production of knowledge with non-academic groups. This makes universities an important stakeholder with a potential of supporting community engagement processeses. Thus, through the analysis of participatory budgeting processes in the cities of the Eastern Baltic Sea region and a detailed case study of participatory budgeting in Riga, this research explores the limits of current PB programs, motivations and advantages of involving university in this process.

Deliberation in Workshops in the Participatory Budgeting Process

Participatory budgeting (PB) is an increasingly popular method for enhancing citizen participation in allocating public resources and engaging citizens in urban development. This paper aims to examine deliberation as a part of a PB experiment called “My Idea”, which took place in the city of Espoo, southern Finland. The PB process is comprised of several phases, including informing citizens, submitting proposals, deliberating in workshops, and voting on a digital platform. The residents participated in workshops to upgrade their proposals to be more feasible and attractive with the help of experts and municipal authorities. Deliberation consisted of elements of citizens coming together, discussing and reflecting on real topics, forming opinions and exchanging views before making informed decisions. The results entail deliberation in the workshops. The findings suggest that the deliberation of residents’ proposals with experts and municipal authorities has the potential to engage citizens in urban development. The empirical data were collected from the workshop discussions and participants’ interviews. The current findings contribute to an understanding of the importance of deliberation and public discussion in the PB process and community development.

Decentralised Governance in Kenya: Implications on Citizen Participation in Local Governance.

This study sought to examine the extent to which decentralisation efforts have affected citizen participation in local governance in Kenya. A survey research design that integrated a mixed-method approach was employed to collect data. The study used Krejcie and Morgan's table to select a sample size of 371 respondents from four counties for the questionnaire instrument. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 16 interview respondents, including critical institutions and organisations in the field. The findings revealed that decentralisation influences citizen participation in local governance. 77.3% of the respondents agreed that decentralisation had promoted political entrepreneurship, while 75% contended that decentralisation had influenced citizen participation in developing policies and legislation. Moreover, 57.2% of the respondents felt that citizen participation in decentralised policy-making was high, while 69% were satisfied that decentralisation had made it possible for citizens to participate in county budgeting. However, only 49% approved the effectiveness of decentralisation in promoting citizen participation in promoting participatory budgeting and planning process. Therefore, the study recommends that the national and county governments put in place measures to safeguard the independence of the counties in realising the objective of citizen participation in local governance.

The impact of pork‐barrel capital funding in schools: Evidence from participatory budgeting in NYC

AbstractPork‐barrel spending is a form of public spending controlled by individual legislators and primarily serving a local interest. In this paper, we investigate the impact of a type of pork, council member capital discretionary education spending voted upon in a participatory budgeting (PB) process, on school budgets and performance in New York City. Exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in discretionary spending induced by the PB elections, we find winning a PB election increases school pork appropriations. However, we find no evidence these transfers from council members improve fiscal and performance outcomes. Further, pork may interfere with school budgeting.