Participatory Budgeting in Europe: Building Trust and Widening Democracy
In an era of rising populism and declining trust in democracy, policymakers at the local and EU levels have increasingly turned to ‘democratic innovations’, such as participatory budgeting, as a way of fostering civic engagement among those traditionally marginalised from local advocacy and politics. Participatory budgeting was first conceived of as a radical programme for rebuilding democracy and addressing historic inequalities in post-dictatorship Brazil. The participatory budgets that have proliferated in Europe in recent decades are generally exercises in selecting projects for discretionary spending. In most cases, this involves members of the public submitting project ideas, which are then voted on by city residents. This policy study presents findings from five case studies. Two of these (Dublin and Warsaw) involved fieldwork with local politicians, city officials and residents who had participated in local participatory budgets. These are supplemented by three smaller illustrative cases (Gent, Helsinki and Marseille) based on desk research.
The aim of these case studies is to understand how those implementing participatory budgets have sought to enable a more diverse cohort of people to take part, particularly among those from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and marginalised groups. These findings are used to consider how policymakers can learn from local participatory budgets to encourage greater active citizenship among those at greater risk of marginalisation in the current climate of polarisation and pessimism. The study also reflects on the inspiration that its findings may have on EU-level debates of budgeting and actively involving citizens in policymaking.
Our findings identify a wide range of tactics and approaches trialled and adopted by those designing participatory budgets across Europe to reduce the risk that they are dominated by wealthier neighbourhoods and residents. These include:
- Consciously targeting marginalised neighbourhoods and groups through geographically focused outreach and an “open door” mindset among officials, embedding participatory budgets in longer-cycle, trustbuilding work.
- Widening the net by including residents often ineligible for recognised elections due to age or immigration status, engaging people ahead of voting age or citizenship.
- Ensuring transparency by using online platforms to share updates on project delivery, especially when projects are delayed, and providing guidance in multiple languages and accessible formats.
- Providing multiple ways of engaging, adding paper ballots and in-person voting to avoid excluding those affected by the digital divide, such as older and migrant participants.
- Encouraging deliberation through workshops and other features – like Helsinki’s OmaStadi card game – that get participants talking to one another, not just voting.
- Using sortition so that participants more closely mirror the city’s demographics, drawing in residents who would otherwise stay away and strengthening the budget’s legitimacy.
- Building future activists and leaders by treating participatory budgeting as a potential first step in wider civic engagement, advocacy, and – as in Warsaw – elected office.
