Participatory Budgeting involves people (part 2)

From:  Examining Participatory Budgeting (Part II), by Sandy Heierbacher, Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)  |  AmericaSpeaks

• (Continued from Part 1)

• The Participatory Budgeting Conference in New York brought together a number of the champions of the PB process across the globe.

• Yves Cabannes spoke first, explaining his role in the early PB experiments in Brazil and elsewhere, and noting that "participatory budgeting is a good way to have democracy and people’s control over what is theirs to begin with – public money.”

• PB has since spread to hundreds of cities in Latin America, and dozens of cities in Europe, Asia, Africa, and finally North America.  More than 1000 municipalities are said to have initiated participatory budgeting.  Approaches differ significantly, and are shaped more by their local contexts than by a pre-set structure.

• Jez Hall described PB as “using money to create new deliberative spaces to exchange technical, political, and local knowledge.”  He further explained that PB is all about connecting people getting people to take small actions in their local communities.  Jez noted that PB brings people into an almost ritual space where they can share positive stories about how they can do something in their communities.

Participatory Budgeting involves people (part 1)

From:  Examining Participatory Budgeting (Part 1), By Sandy Heierbacher Director of the NCDD  |  National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)

• At the end of March, I had the pleasure of attending the first International Conference on Participatory Budgeting in the US and Canada.  My organization, the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD), was a co-sponsor of the event, and I was a panelist at one of the sessions.

• I was excited to attend the event to learn more about how “participatory budgeting” – a deliberative process that was spearheaded in Brazil – is playing out here in the U.S. 

• Participatory budgeting is one of the fastest-growing forms of public engagement across the globe, and I think it’s an important area for public engagement professionals to be aware of.  

• The conference was organized by Participatory Budgeting Project, which is led by Josh Lerner.

Check out the article for information about participatory budgeting.

Participatory budgeting gives citizens a voice and a vote in how government spends public money

NCDD- The National Coalition for Dialog & Deliberation: Resource Center
Government can’t solve budget battles? Let citizens do it.

• This article on participatory budgeting (PB) by Daniel Altschuler and Josh Lerner appeared in the Christian Science Monitor site on April 5, 2011.  See the original article with all live links at http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2011/0405/Government-can-t-solve-budget-battles-Let-citizens-do-it.

• As states and cities across the country confront staggering budget shortfalls, they face a double whammy: Voters are already disillusioned with government, and now elected officials have fewer resources to address citizens’ concerns. Recent polls show that Americans are as disgruntled as ever with Congress and both major parties. Meanwhile, the economic crisis has left federal, state, and city legislators short of funds for public goods like education and health care.

• Faced with such daunting budget dilemmas, what are politicians to do? Two words: Look south! “Participatory budgeting” (PB), a model popular throughout Latin America, may offer a way to do more with less, and to reconnect citizens with government.

• PB gives taxpayers a voice and a vote in how government spends public money. Unlike consultations, PB enables ordinary people to directly decide budget spending. Citizens receive training, identify and prioritize local needs, develop spending proposals, and vote on the proposed projects. Then the government carries out the top proposals, participants monitor progress, and the cycle begins anew.

• First developed in Brazil, PB has spread to over 1,200 municipalities around the world. Throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia, it has brought people into the political process, taught them civic skills, and encouraged them to work together. Where the state provides sufficient support – through training, facilitation, and expert guidance – PB can reverse dissatisfaction with government and increase transparency, accountability, and efficiency.