Participatory Budgeting Research Articles

COVID-19 as a driver for e-participation: insights from participatory budgeting in Poland

PurposeThis paper explores how COVID-19 has impacted the shift from public participation by conventional means to e-participation. Specifically, we investigated to what extent COVID-19 has been a driver for electronic participation in community participatory budgeting, which is a kind of residents’ consultation on how to spend part of a budget on local projects. We expounded on the concept of e-participation and its sub-concepts and investigated how these were applicable to participatory budgeting.Design/methodology/approachWe interviewed 34 leading managers in five City Halls in Poland regarding their views and experiences with moving public interactions related to participatory budgeting online during COVID-19.FindingsThe findings indicated that COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalization of the participatory budgeting processes and, to some extent, may have increased community participation in general. We observed increased e-participation in the forms of e-consultation, e-deliberation, e-lobbying and e-voting.Originality/valueMainly, this study contributed to the field by providing empirical evidence that COVID-19 increased various forms of e-participation as related to participatory budgeting. Moreover, we delineated various forms of e-participation and mapped them to activities in participatory budgeting.

Empowering minorities and everyone in participatory budgeting: an agent-based modelling perspective.

Currently, there are increasing attempts to better involve citizens in political decision processes. A successful approach in that regard has been participatory budgeting (PB), which allows citizens to propose projects and then decide how to distribute a given budget over them. Meanwhile, the literature on collective intelligence (CI) has also shown the ability of groups to solve complex problems. Thus, by combining CI and PB, it should be possible for citizens to identify problems and create their own solutions. In this article, we study this possibility by using agent-based models. Specifically, we first show that a system combining CI and PB produces solutions that strongly penalize minorities if the solution quality depends on group size. Then, we introduce an approach that can overcome this issue. Indeed, by using a common knowledge base for the storage of partial solutions, the quality of solutions of minorities can benefit from the work of the majority, thereby promoting fairness. Interestingly, this approach also benefits majorities, as the quality of their solutions is further improved by the work of the minorities, thus reaching better solutions for everyone. This stresses the potential and importance of an open innovation approach, which is committed to information sharing.This article is part of the theme issue 'Co-creating the future: participatory cities and digital governance'.

Fair voting outcomes with impact and novelty compromises? Unravelling biases in electing participatory budgeting winners.

Participatory budgeting, as a paradigm for democratic innovations, engages citizens in the distribution of a public budget to projects, which they propose and vote for implementation. So far, voting algorithms have been proposed and studied in social choice literature to elect projects that are popular, while others prioritize a proportional representation of voters' preferences, for instance, the rule of equal shares. However, the anticipated impact and novelty in the broader society by the winning projects, as selected by different algorithms, remains totally under-explored, lacking both a universal theory of impact for voting and a rigorous unifying framework for impact and novelty assessments. This article tackles this grand challenge towards new axiomatic foundations for designing effective and fair voting methods. This is through new and striking insights derived from a large-scale analysis of biases over 345 real-world voting outcomes, characterized for the first time by a novel portfolio of impact and novelty metrics. We find strong causal evidence that equal shares comes with impact loss in several infrastructural projects of different cost levels that have been so far over-represented. However, it also comes with a novel, yet over-represented, impact gain in welfare, education and culture. We discuss the broader implications of these results and how impact loss can be mitigated at the stage of campaign design and project ideation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Co-creating the future: participatory cities and digital governance'.

Exploring legitimacy in a municipal budget decision in Switzerland: empirical insights into citizens' perceptions.

This study examines legitimacy in municipal budgeting decisions, focusing on input, throughput and output dimensions. Using data from four Swiss studies, we explore how citizens assess these dimensions across traditional and innovative decision-making processes and investigate the impact of different voting methods on legitimacy perceptions. Our findings reveal that in routine processes using traditional voting, legitimacy dimensions are considered collectively. Conversely, in innovative participatory budgeting, dimensions are judged separately, involving more active evaluation. Throughput legitimacy (perceived fairness) emerges as crucial in both contexts, while input and output legitimacy's importance varies by process type. The Method of Equal Shares voting system shifts focus towards procedural fairness, increases representation and is perceived as fairer than the traditional Greedy method. However, even fair processes cannot fully compensate for outcome dissatisfaction, highlighting the complex interplay of legitimacy dimensions. This research contributes to understanding legitimacy construction in municipal decision-making, offering insights into the relationship between voting methods and legitimacy perceptions. The findings have implications for policy-makers seeking to enhance the effectiveness and acceptance of budgeting processes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Co-creating the future: participatory cities and digital governance'.

How to monitor local objectives for urban climate change adaptation? Insights from quantitative content analysis of selected participatory budgets in the upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis

Subsequent analyses of participatory budgeting in Poland emphasise the popularity of environmental issues such as greenery, air quality, and sustainable transport, which should also support objectives in urban climate change adaptation (UCCA). An increasing number of adaptation projects within local standards or ‘green’ civic budgets are often listed among the indicators in urban adaptation plans for Polish cities. However, available research studies and urban evaluation reports show that monitoring participatory budgets poses a methodological challenge. Therefore, the aim of the article is twofold. First, it proposes a method of identifying overlaps of urban climate change adaptation objectives with descriptions of projects submitted to local participatory budgets of the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis. For this purpose, a dictionary-based text analysis of project descriptions was performed and critically examined. The second aim was to identify trends in urban climate change adaptation objectives. Thus, the quantitative distribution of coded descriptions was evaluated to investigate how subsequent types of participatory budgets (editions, green vs. standard, implemented vs. non-implemented) differed. The results demonstrate that the available database of participatory budget projects is a rich source of information on local preferences towards issues related to UCCA. To strengthen the objectives of urban climate change adaptation, city administrations can consider additional tools, such as UCCA-related tips/inspiration and targeted calls for projects, as well as supplementing participatory budgets with other deliberative methods. However, collecting precise and calculable data on this topic based on participatory budget databases requires both methodological adjustments and careful validation.

Sources of Legitimacy in Participatory Budgeting: A Scoping Review

This article conducts a scoping review to explore the key determinants of political legitimacy in participatory budgeting. The scoping review employs a comprehensive search of Scopus to select relevant studies. Three main sources of legitimacy emerge from this analysis: (1) institutions, (2) citizen participation, and (3) deliberation. The findings reveal that participatory budgeting can significantly affect political legitimacy through these mechanisms. In addition, the study highlights the relevance of legitimacy, as it relates to participatory budgeting, in both democratic and non-democratic contexts, with particular attention to participatory budgeting practices in China.

Epistemic selection of costly alternatives: the case of participatory budgeting

We initiate the study of voting rules for participatory budgeting using the so-called epistemic approach, where one interprets votes as noisy reflections of some ground truth regarding the objectively best set of projects to fund. Using this approach, we first show that both the most studied rules in the literature and the most widely used rule in practice cannot be justified on epistemic grounds: they cannot be interpreted as maximum likelihood estimators, whatever assumptions we make about the accuracy of voters. Focusing then on welfare-maximising rules, we obtain both positive and negative results regarding epistemic guarantees.

New Municipalism and the Challenges of Design: Context, Instruments and Implementation

AbstractThis contribution adds a design approach to our understanding of emancipatory epistemologies within new municipalism. So far, the extant research has rarely discussed its specific opportunities and limitations, regarding their context‐bound formulation and real‐world implementation as a policy process. In contrast, the following article situates their emancipatory potential within the place‐specific ways in which multiple stakeholders define problems, set objectives, choose instruments and convert them into actions, intersecting with significant capacity constraints of the municipal scale. The case of participatory budgeting in Vienna illustrates our approach and theoretical reflection. It shows how and to what extent the design of the relational process influences new municipalism in practice and its outcome with respect to agenda‐setting, formulation and implementation. It concludes by highlighting the contribution of a design approach to the production of emancipatory knowledge and practices in democratic transformation and its analytical value added for comparative research on new municipalism.

Factors Influencing Participation in County Budget Making Process and Economic Empowerment among The Youth in West Pokot County, Kenya

The study aimed to explore the factors influencing youth participation in the county budget-making process and its impact on economic empowerment in West Pokot County, Kenya. It identified a significant gap in understanding how participatory budgeting linked to budget implementation affected youth involvement, despite its legislative support. The research noted low participation rates, indicating a symbolic rather than a substantive engagement in the process. To address these gaps, the study focused on several key objectives: examining the effects of access to information, assessing the knowledge and skills of youth regarding budget participation, exploring their attitudes toward the process, and evaluating the impact of meeting locations on participation. Conducted between January and March 2023, the study employed a descriptive research design, targeting a sample of 120 youths aged 18-35 from four constituencies in West Pokot County. Through purposive sampling, data were collected using questionnaires that incorporated both closed and open-ended questions. The research found that access to information significantly influenced youth participation. Many respondents indicated that while some information was available, it was often inadequate or poorly communicated. Additionally, the study revealed that knowledge and skills directly impacted the youth’s confidence and ability to engage in the budgeting process. Attitudes towards participation were mixed, with some youths believing their involvement could lead to better economic outcomes, while others expressed skepticism about the value of their contributions. Furthermore, the study examined the location of budget meetings, determining that accessibility played a crucial role in youth attendance. When meetings were held closer to their residences, participation rates increased. The results suggested that improving access to information, enhancing training programs, fostering positive attitudes, and strategically selecting meeting locations could collectively empower youth economically. Overall, the findings underscored the need for targeted strategies to improve participatory budgeting and economic outcomes for youths in West Pokot County.

The participatory budgeting and the collaborative governance movement at the Hungarian local government level

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of participatory budgeting (PB) practices in Hungary by exploring the experiences of three local governments. The research specifically investigates the environmental conditions conducive to PB adoption, internal organizational factors influencing its success and the short- and long-term outcomes of the process. Although in well-developed democracies attributed with active local communities has a long tradition in participation and cooperation between government and citizens, the Hungarian context offers a unique examination of participatory budgeting (PB) due to the developing civil sector and historical mistrust between government and civil society. However, in the context of increasing governmental centralization, local initiatives advocating for citizen-driven budgets are emerging. This research explores the feasibility of implementing participatory budgeting in this challenging environment. The interplay of a fledgling civil sector, entrenched scepticism, and centralization provides a distinctive backdrop for understanding PB dynamics in Hungary.

Budget participation and financial information asymmetry: Behavior of budget users and financial report fraud

Financial statement fraud is a problem often faced by organizations that can reduce their performance. An organization that successfully achieves its goals must be aware of information asymmetry and the need for moral justice in managing its finances. The research population comprises employees of the finance, planning, reporting, and budget preparation sections of the Gowa Regency regional performance unit. This research selected a saturated sample of 76 employees from the total population. The results show that participatory budgeting has a significant effect on financial report fraud and that information asymmetry has a substantial influence on financial statement fraud. The research results show that moral justice moderates the effect of participatory budgeting on financial report fraud. Moral justice cannot moderate the influence of information asymmetry on financial statement fraud. Employees must still have good moral justice in participatory budgeting to minimize the possibility of fraudulent financial reports. It is hoped that the findings of this research will enable organizations to create innovative information facilities to reduce information asymmetry so that organizational performance can be achieved.

Participatory Budgeting and the Formation of Public Spheres

Objective: Describe the role of participatory budgeting (PB) in the formation of public spheres. Theoretical Framework: The research is based on Habermas's (2012) theory of communicative action and the formation of public spheres, along with approaches related to deliberative democracy, highlighting the role of PB as a channel for citizen engagement and social justice. Method: The study employs a theoretical analysis to explore the connection between PB and the formation of public spheres, drawing on case studies and existing literature on PB and deliberative democracy. Results and Discussion: The essay identifies six premises that link PB to the formation of public spheres: 1) Discussions on problem-topics influence through public spheres; 2) Public spheres strengthen deliberative democracy; 3) All citizens can participate; 4) PB enables the participation of “weak publics” and promotes social justice; 5) The educational nature of PB enhances citizen reflexivity; 6) PB exercises social control, promoting good governance and transparency. Research Implications: The study suggests that by fostering deliberation and citizen participation, PB can strengthen local democracy and contribute to the formulation of more just and inclusive policies. Originality/Value: This essay offers a theoretical contribution by connecting PB with the theory of communicative action and the foundations for the formation of public spheres, as proposed by Habermas (2012), highlighting its potential to strengthen democracy through deliberative citizen participation.

Power to the People? How Participatory Budgets Affect Citizens’ Populist Attitudes

So-called populist citizens feel excluded from political decision-making, which in their eyes is dominated by an unresponsive political elite. While democratic innovation scholars suggest that empowering citizens in the decision-making process can affect populist sentiments, this article addresses the lack of theorization and empirical research on the mechanisms behind such effects as well as the scarcity of qualitative research regarding populist attitudes. It generates a theory that accounts for changes in participants’ populist attitudes and tests this theory in a most-likely case study. An analysis of pre–post survey data and 35 semi-structured interviews from three participatory budgeting events in the Netherlands shows that for populist citizens, the inclusion of politically marginalised groups and the empowerment of citizens can explain populist attitudes change. On the contrary, the representativeness of the participants and the ability to have deeper discussions are drivers of populist attitudes change for non-populist citizens.

How Job Satisfaction Moderates the Determinant Factors of Managerial Performances at PT PLN (Persero) UIP3B Sumatera

Achieving optimal performance necessitates precise goal setting, and access to quality information to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of these goals. Therefore, the variables used in this research are considered capable of affecting managerial performance, which in turn impacts company profits. This study aims to examine the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable with the inclusion of a moderating variable. This study uses a qualitative method that conducts a census of 64 research populations consisting of structural and staff as correspondents to answer questionnaires that use a Likert scale. This study found that participatory budgeting, job-relevant information, and clarity of budget targets all significantly impact managerial performance, both simultaneously, and individually. However, Participatory budgeting and job-specific information have a direct impact on managerial performance, whereas the clarity of budget goals doesn't. Furthermore, job satisfaction enhances the influence of participatory budgeting, job-specific information, and clear budget goals on managerial performance. This study aims to benefit companies and guide future research.

Exploring the Democratic Merits of Hybrid Democratic Innovation. Combining Deliberation and Voting in Participatory Budgeting New Style

ABSTRACT In this paper we theorize hybrid democratic innovations (HDIs) which combine concentrated deliberation with large-scale voting. We focus on a field of hybridization that has not been investigated extensively yet: the rise of Participatory Budgeting-new style, characterized by an increased emphasis on large-scale voting—using technologies that became widely available in the 2010s— combined with continued attention to deliberative participation. We investigate an exemplary case—Antwerp’s Citizens’ Budget—to assess this type of HDI in terms of democratic values, specifically input, throughput, and output values. We conclude with implications for further debate on HDIs and an agenda for future research.

Participatory Budgeting in the Global South: towards a new international diffusion

Participatory Budgeting in the Global South: towards a new international diffusion

A large-scale field experiment on participatory decision-making in China.

Can local democratic decision-making in authoritarian environments increase or pacify civic engagement and government accountability? Here we conducted an intervention reaching over 20 million people in China. Communities were randomly assigned such that citizens in treatment communities were invited to deliberate and make collective decisions on how local community budgets were allocated through both in-person and online communication channels (participatory budgeting). We find that participatory decision-making in community budgeting increased a wide range of civic-engagement behaviours outside of the budgeting domain 6 months after the start of the intervention. Residents in treatment communities reported more need for improvement from the central government, providing a potential foundation for seeking accountability from the authoritarian regime. These changes were accompanied by a more positive societal outlook and increased satisfaction in the country's policies.

Belediye Yönetimlerinin Gelir ve Harcama Politikaları Nasıl Olmalıdır?

Revenue and expenditure policies of municipal governments should be determined by taking into account the principles of sustainability, efficiency and justice of local governments. The main purpose of these policies is for municipalities to provide public services effectively and increase the welfare of the society. Revenue policies determine the resources that municipalities can use to meet their budget needs. These sources generally consist of local taxes, fees, transfers and other revenue sources. It is important that income policies are fair and burden different segments of society in a balanced manner. At the same time, a reliable basis should be created for budget planning and long-term investments by ensuring the continuity and predictability of revenues. Expenditure policies determine how municipalities will use these resources. Expenditures should be aimed at increasing the efficiency of municipal services. In this context, investments should be made in priority areas, projects that will increase efficiency should be prioritized and waste of resources should be prevented. In addition, spending policies should be transparent and shared with the public so that the society can receive the services they expect from municipalities and participate in management processes. In this study, the revenue and expenditure policies of municipalities were examined by comparative analysis method and some determinations were made about how the municipalities' revenue and expenditure policies would be. In this context, the revenue and expenditure policies of municipal governments should be regulated in a balanced and fair manner to meet local needs, ensure sustainability and increase social welfare. Correct implementation of these policies will strengthen the effectiveness of local governments and their trust relationship with the society. Key Words: Local Administrations, Municipalities, Revenue Policies, Expenditure Policies, Participatory Budget Jel Code: E62, H71, H72

Efficiency in Municipal Management: Participatory Budgeting and its Relationship with Public Projects in Rural Areas in Peru

The Participatory Budget is a key tool in public management that seeks to improve transparency and efficiency in local projects. The objective of the study was to analyze the relationship between the Participatory Budget (PP) and the Public Investment Projects (PIP) in the Municipality of Anco Churcampa, Huancavelica, during the year 2020, to evaluate how citizen participation influences the effectiveness and efficiency of publicly funded projects. For this purpose, a quantitative correlational approach with a cross-sectional design was used. A structured questionnaire was applied to 42 participants, among whom were municipal authorities and representatives of civil society. The collected data were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, which allowed the association between the PP and PIP variables to be evaluated. The results showed a positive and significant correlation between the dimensions of the PP, such as preparation, consultation, coordination and formalization, and the perception of success in the PIP. It was observed that the average levels of perception in the PP corresponded with average levels in the perceived effectiveness of the PIPs, which underlines the importance of well-structured participatory management. In conclusion, the study highlights that the PP is a fundamental tool to improve the transparency and effectiveness of the PIPs, highlighting the need to strengthen citizen participation in decision-making to promote more equitable and sustainable local development.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE LOCAL GOVERNANCE BEST PRACTICES AND IMPACT IN INDONESIAN REGIONS

Sustainable local governance is pivotal for the socio-economic development and environmental resilience of regions. In Indonesia, the quest for effective and sustainable governance faces numerous challenges, including resource constraints, diverse cultural contexts, and varying levels of institutional capacity. This study aims to identify and analyze innovative solutions that have been successfully implemented in various Indonesian regions to promote sustainable local governance. Employing a comprehensive literature review methodology, the research synthesizes data from academic articles, government reports, and case studies. The findings highlight a range of best practices, such as community-based resource management, digital governance platforms, and participatory budgeting processes. These practices have demonstrated significant positive impacts on governance efficiency, community engagement, and sustainable development outcomes. The study also identifies key challenges, such as scalability and adaptability of these innovations across different regions. By addressing these challenges and leveraging the identified best practices, policymakers and local governments can enhance governance sustainability and resilience. This research contributes to the broader discourse on sustainable governance by providing actionable insights and policy recommendations that can be adapted and implemented in similar contexts globally.