Participatory Budgeting (PB) and the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP)

What is the first step of PB?

Design the Process: A steering committee that represents the community creates the rules and engagement plan.

What is the third step of PB?

Develop Proposals: Volunteer "budget delegates" develop the ideas into feasible proposals.

How does PB increase civic engagement?

Folks learn democracy by doing it. PB is a gateway to more civic engagement that creates paths to lifelong civic engagement. Participants see the tangible results of investing in their community, often inspiring them to become more involved. PB increases engagement in elections, making people 7% more likely to vote.

Could PB work in my city?

PB can work in any city! There are processes as large as New York City, population ~8 million, and as small as Labrador City, Canada, population ~9,000.

What is the Reach of PB?

PB has spread to over 3,000 cities around the world, and has been used to decide budgets from states, counties, cities, housing authorities, schools, and other institutions.

How does PB work?

PB is an annual cycle of engagement that is integrated into a regular budgeting process. A typical PB process follows five steps, usually over the course of a year.

How does PB broaden political participation, especially in historically marginalized communities?

PB is open and accessible to people who have faced historical barriers to participation and voting. This includes young people, formerly incarcerated people, recent immigrants, and others. PBP's model of PB includes adequate resources to reach deeply into communities to ensure that everyone is able to participate.

How does PB enhance relationships in a community?

PB leads to more collaboration between people and government. Participants meet and work directly with elected officials, agency and institution staff, other parts of city government.

What are the Origins of PB?

PB started in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989, as an anti-poverty measure that helped reduce child mortality by nearly 20%.

What is Participatory Budgeting (PB)?

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget.

How does PB lead to more equitable and effective spending?

Public funding is more responsive to expressed public needs. Decision-making is directly by residents, rather than by a small number of officials or "squeaky wheels". Residents offer innovative spending ideas. Often ideas proposed for PB (that don't get funded) are cues for officials that there is a need there, and often some of these projects get funded outside of PB.

Why Volunteer with PBP?

Lend your time, skills, and enthusiasm to PBP so that we can continue to grow participatory democracy across the US and Canada. As a volunteer, you can help us: 1. Spread the word about PB 2. Run workshops, trainings and other public events 3. Grow fundraising campaigns 4. Create special projects with your skills and expertise

What needs to be in place for PB to work?

1. A dedicated source of public funding 2. An agreed upon process and schedule 3. A staff to mediate the process 4. Community volunteers to facilitate the process 5. Outreach to the neighborhood to get people to attend

What five values is PBP guided by?

1. Community 2. Participatory Democracy 3. Equality 4. Transparency 5. Learning

What five impacts does PB have on a community?

1. Increased civic engagement 2. Stronger relationships between residents, government, and community organizations. 3. Broader political participation, especially from historically marginalized communities. 4. New community leaders. 5. More equitable and effective spending.

What three main services does PBP provide?

1. Technical Assistance 2. Participation Lab 3. Network Building

What is the second step of PB?

Brainstorm Ideas: Through meetings and online tools, residents share and discuss ideas for projects.

What is the fifth step of PB?

Fund Winning Projects: The government or institution funds and implements the winning ideas.

Why do PB?

It's a better way to manage public money. Residents' input often makes up for gaps in official knowledge, leading to better, more equitable and innovative solutions while also bringing the people and their government closer together as a community. In the PB process, historically disenfranchised groups are able to participate, and historically marginalized ones tend to participate more, leading to the government hearing new voices. Lastly, reiterating the PB process strengthens civil society by creating new relationships, empowering new leaders, and generally strengthening local democracy.

What pot of money does the community allocate? Can you do PB if there is no extra money in the budget?

Money can come from all kinds of sources. PB usually comes from discretionary public funds, so there's no need to find a new source of money, just a change to how current budget funds are decided. You can work with specific government agencies to identify which parts of their budget are up to their own discretion. For example, money can come from discretionary funds in elected official's offices or city agencies. You can even look outside of your local government to federal block grants, or non-governmental sources like grassroots fundraising, foundations, or non-profits. Get creative!

How much money is enough to do PB?

Most processes use between 1-15% of their local city budget. For larger municipalities, we suggest $1 million per 100,000 residents, so that that invitations to participate are compelling. Though you can do PB with any amount of money, the more funds available, the more impactful the process will be, and the more buy in you'll find among community members. Don't be intimidated, though! At Overfelt High School in San Jose, the PB process decides on $50,000 for 2,800 students. PB doesn't need to stretch into the millions of dollars to be effective or worthwhile.

What other resources are necessary to implement PB?

Other kinds of resources and services that could be helpful would include technical assistance from experienced PB professionals, research and evalution of your process and its impacts, a steering committee drawn from the community to cultivate the process, etc.

What technical assistance does PBP offer specific to starting PB?

Planning Consultation; PB Briefing for Decision-makers; Community Info Sessions; and PB 101 Training.

What technical assistance does PBP offer specific to doing PB?

Planning; Coaching Calls; Trainings; Workshops; Materials; Technology Integration; and Evaluation Support.

What talks and trainings do PBP offer?

Presentations; PB Briefing for Decision-makers; Community Info Sessions; PB 101 Training; and Advanced PB Training.

What is PBP's Participation Lab?

The Participation Lab develops and tests innovative strategies and design solutions that make PB easier and more effective, and that deepen, measure, and communicate its impacts. This work includes developing civic engagement tools such as trainings, guides, videos, and technology to address common challenges in PB.

What is the Mission of the Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP)?

The Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP) is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to decide together how to spend public money, primarily in the US and Canada. We create and support participatory budgeting processes that deepen democracy, build stronger communities, and make public budgets more equitable and effective. PBP is the lead organization advancing participatory budgeting (PB) across the United States and Canada. We have empowered more than 400,000 people to directly decide how to spend $300 million in public funds in 29 cities.

Won't the usual suspects and groups with the most power dominate the process?

The beauty of PB is that it excels at getting new or under-recognized voices in the room. But not automatically! Effective PB uses grassroots organizing, outreach, and neighborly word of mouth to get those who usually don't or can't participate into the process. For example, PB doesn't restrict participation based on citizenship, so immigrants, undocumented folks, and even those under the legal voting age of 18 can take part. As long as you do effective outreach, you'll be incorporating traditionally under-served perspectives into your PB process.

How does PB foster new community leaders?

There are many opportunities for leadership in PB, from joining the Steering Committee to being a facilitator or Budget Delegate. Participants gain valuable skills including public speaking, negotiation, facilitation, (etc). Youth participants especially gain confidence, communication skills, and leadership.

What is the fourth step of PB?

Vote: Residents vote on the proposals that most serve the community's needs.

How does valuing Participatory Democracy guide PBP?

We believe in democracy by and for the people, in which community members are able to directly participate in making the decisions that affect their lives.

Who does PBP help in Network Building?

We build relationships with government officials and staff, organizers, and researchers to increase demand and support for PB. This work includes managing a PB Network of practitioners, holding international conferences, and introducing PB to new types of budgets.

How does valuing Equity guide PBP?

We focus on including those who face the greatest barriers to participation, distributing power and resources to where they are needed most, and reducing disparities between groups.

How does PBP provide Technical Assistance?

We provide direct support to PB processes in order to grow and improve the practice of PB. This includes providing trainings, materials, coaching, and other expertise to governments, organizations, and residents, so that they can implement high-impact civic engagement processes that advance equity and democracy.

How does valuing Learning guide PBP?

We seek to constantly improve our work by experimenting with new approaches and learning from successes and failures, in order to execute swiftly, develop our individual abilities, and advance our mission.

How does valuing Community guide PBP?

We strive to bring people together across differences, and support them in learning from each other, forging new bonds, and working together to achieve shared goals.

How does valuing Transparency guide PBP?

We strive to share information clearly, make decisions openly, and communicate courageously, to help people access information, understand decisions, and create a culture of accountability.

Isn't it the job of elected officials to decide how public money is spent?

Yes and no. An elected official's job is to represent their constituents in the policy-making process. Deciding how to spend public money is often a part of that role, but so is deciding what the decision making process looks like in the first place. Empowering their constituents to use participatory budgeting is one such policy decision. It doesn't hurt that elected officials often become closer to their constituents through the process!

Is PB legal?

Yes. In some places, PB Has been written into law through a charter change, which can be useful for the long-term viability of the process and public transparency. However, because the vast majority of PB processes use discretionary funds, there is no need for legislation to begin a process. All it takes to start a process is a political commitment by decision-makers to implement projects that win. There's not a need to change who holds budgetary authority.