Participatory Budgeting

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Participatory Budgeting
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In this session we are going to

• Learn about what participatory budgeting (PB) is
• Explore why PB is used in hundreds of cities
  across the world
• Learn about the PB model used in Porto Alegre,
  Brazil
• Discuss the budgeting processes currently used in
  your municipality
• Discuss what the advantages and disadvantages of
  using PB in your municipality might be
• Create a possible PB model for your municipality

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What is Participatory Budgeting

• Participatory budgeting is a process of
  democratic deliberation and decision-making,
  where ordinary community members decide how to
  allocate part of a public budget through a series
  of local assemblies and meetings.
• It usually features
• community members identifying spending priorities
  and electing budget delegates to represent them,
• budget delegates transforming community
  priorities into concrete project proposals,
• public employees facilitating and providing
  technical assistance,
• community members voting on which projects to
  fund, and
• the public authority implementing the projects.

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Why do PB?

• Participatory budgeting can lead to
• more equitable public spending
• higher quality of life through increased
  satisfaction of basic needs,
• greater government transparency and
  accountability,
• increased levels of public participation

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Increased participation

• Opening up the budget process to direct
  involvement of the community is a guaranteed way
  of getting the community involved
• It has been used in particular to engage and
  empower the poorest members of society,
• Being involved in the budget process builds
  peoples capacity and interest in being involved
  in other government and governance processes
• It relies on a healthy civil society and helps to
  maintain and build that level of civil society

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Its about sharing power!

• Principle involved is that citizens have the
  right to control the budget, because the budget
  is the real face of the government
• Its not just consultation.

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PBs biggest strength and greatest weakness

• The biggest strength and the greatest weakness of
  participatory budgeting is that it is focused on
  short-term tangible outcomes.
• It appeals to peoples self interest and
  benefits, not just community benefit

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PB around the world

• Participatory budgeting began in Porto Alegre
  Brazil, 20 years ago
• Participatory budgeting processes are now run in
  hundreds of cities across the world, with the
  majority in Latin America and Europe.
• A guide to participatory budgeting in the UK has
  just been produced, and an African regional
  seminar was held earlier this year.

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The Porto Alegre experience
1.5 million people Area 476 km2 GDP US 8
billion. Total budget of the Porto Alegre City
Hall US1.6 billion. Illiteracy rate of 3.4
Infant mortality of 14.4 deaths per 1000
births 17 of houses are in illegal settlements.
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The PA PB process

• The Porto Alegre participatory budgeting process
  has been running for twenty years
• The process directly determines the expenditure
  of 12 of the Porto Alegre budget or around US
  200 million.
• Described as a political commitment between
  government and civil society
• It involves many thousands of residents and
  community organisations every year.
• The people who participate are typically low
  income but not the lowest income, and have a
  reasonable level of education.

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Porto Alegre Participatory Budgeting process
Orçamento Participativo
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• City of Porto Alegre is divided into 17
  geographic regions for the PB process
• The PB process also looks at budget requests
  across six city-wide themes
• circulation, transport and urban mobility
• city organisation, urban and environmental
  development
• economic development, tax and tourism,
• culture
• health and social assistance and
• education, sports and leisure.

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The process over the year

• March April Preparatory meetings
• April May Regional and theme assemblies
• May July Delegates forums
• July October Municipal assemblies (held
  weekly)
• September October Budget sent to City
  Legislative Assembly
• October December Detailed investments and
  services plan is prepared. Projects
  begin to be implemented
• December January Any changes to PB process
  discussed and determined

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Region and theme assemblies
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Each assembly

• Each assembly is usually attended by 500 - 1000
  people.
• Four main items are on the agenda
• A report about the activities of the previous
  year
• An opportunity for people to have their say on a
  particular issue
• Voting by choosing four priorities from a list.
  The 2008 list was
• Housing Youth
• Economic development, taxation and tourism
  Health
• Social assistance Culture
• Education (including childcare) Public lighting
• Basic sanitation , sewerage and drainage Tourism
• Environmental health Sport and leisure
• Accessibility and urban mobility Recreation
  areas
• Circulation and transport
• Two Participatory Budget Councillors are elected.
  
• Each 10 participants at an Assembly entitle the
  region or theme to one delegate.

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The link between PB and representative democracy

• .
• 61 of Porto Alegre population in a survey
  reported that they felt PB was more important
  than their legislative assembly.
• Although the PB process is highly successful at
  involving people, there are still groups that are
  not well represented the very poor and the
  elderly in particular.
• Not many people move from being actively involved
  in the PB process to standing for election to the
  city legislative assembly.
• There is some friction between the legislature
  and the PB process. Some members of the
  legislative assembly see PB as a support others
  see it as a challenge

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What happens in your municipality?

• At your table discuss the budget processes that
  are currently in use in your municipality
• What are their advantages and disadvantages?
• Report back

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Could PB work for you?

• What would you see the main advantages in
  introducing PB to your municipality?
• What would be the main disadvantages, or the
  biggest barriers in introducing it?
• What could a Misamis Occidental PB model look
  like?