Blog: What can Scotland learn from international PB?

Coryn Barclay, research consultant at Fife Council, took part in an international learning visit to Paris in December 2016, supported by what Works Scotland, to consider how Scotland could learn about participatory budgeting and public sector reform.

Two years on, she was invited to participate in an international round table discussion at the Third National Meeting of Participatory Budgeting, hosted by the City of Montreuil on 8/9 November 2018, again in Paris. Here she shares the experience:

“The amazing La Mèlies Cinema was the venue for the international round table discussion on the Friday morning. The discussion was hosted by Gilles Pradeau, University of Westminster. Gilles was part of our group that visited Paris in 2016, and he recently came to meet with us in Kirkcaldy, Fife, to share some of his findings with us about comparisons between PB in France and Brazil. Gilles reflected on the differences between PB in Brazil and in Europe, noting that social justice is a greater driver for PB in Latin America. He also spoke about where consultative PB has been introduced in Europe it has not been able to be sustained, but where PB has been co-decisional, such as in Cascais, then it is more likely to be sustained. This has implications for how we take things forward in both Fife and Scotland. It was great to hear Kirkcaldy and Fife get a name check from Gilles ahead of both Cascais and New York!”

Read the full blog here.