Public sector and community

Participatory Budget

Let a group allocate a shared budget across competing priorities. Each participant distributes a real total (e.g. €100,000,000) across the areas — seeing both the amount and the percentage as they go — and the results show where the group would collectively spend.

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What the framework is

In participatory budgeting, the people a budget serves decide how part of it is spent. It began in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989, and is now used by councils, schools, housing co-operatives, member associations and NGOs. The template sets out five budget areas for participants to divide money between.

What the result looks like

EXAMPLE
How should the community fund be shared out?
01

How would you allocate the budget across these areas?

6 responses
01
Education
€17,500
of €50,000
Amount, per person
€0 €12,500 €25,000 €37,500 €50,000
Mean €17,500 · median €17,500 · range €15,000–€20,000
People mostly agree
How many gave each amount
4 2
€0€0–5,000€5,000–10,000€10,000–15,000€15,000–20,000€20,000+
02
Health
€12,500
of €50,000
Amount, per person
€0 €12,500 €25,000 €37,500 €50,000
Mean €12,500 · median €12,500 · range €10,000–€15,000
People mostly agree
How many gave each amount
4 2
€0€0–5,000€5,000–10,000€10,000–15,000€15,000–20,000€20,000+
03
Infrastructure
€10,000
of €50,000
Amount, per person
€0 €12,500 €25,000 €37,500 €50,000
Mean €10,000 · median €10,000 · range €7,500–€12,500
People mostly agree
How many gave each amount
1 5
€0€0–5,000€5,000–10,000€10,000–15,000€15,000–20,000€20,000+
04
Environment
€5,000
of €50,000
Amount, per person
€0 €12,500 €25,000 €37,500 €50,000
Mean €5,000 · median €5,000 · range €2,500–€7,500
People mostly agree
How many gave each amount
1 5
€0€0–5,000€5,000–10,000€10,000–15,000€15,000–20,000€20,000+
04
Social Services
€5,000
of €50,000
Amount, per person
€0 €12,500 €25,000 €37,500 €50,000
Mean €5,000 · median €5,000 · range €2,500–€7,500
People mostly agree
How many gave each amount
1 5
€0€0–5,000€5,000–10,000€10,000–15,000€15,000–20,000€20,000+

When it earns its place

Use it when a fixed pot of money has several reasonable uses, and the decision is more legitimate if members or residents make it. Examples are a community fund, a members' grant round, a school's discretionary budget, or a team's development money.

Two things decide whether it works. The first is who takes part: without effort, the already-engaged decide for everyone. The second is follow-through. People who see nothing happen after they vote won't vote next time.

How to run it with a group

  1. Describe each area in a sentence, and say what a realistic amount buys there. "€2,000 funds a term of after-school clubs" beats "Youth".
  2. State the total, what happens with the result, and when.
  3. Send the link and give people one to two weeks. Participants do not need an account to respond. Reach out beyond the usual channels.
  4. Publish the result, then report back on what the money did.

Get started

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