Taking Participatory Budgeting Digital in Renfrewshire

Like everything with the pandemic, PB has had to move quickly to keep up with the new ways of working we've all been forced to undertake in the last few months. While digital has long been part of PB, covid-19 has forced many processes to become digital-only, with all the benefits and pitfalls that can have.

We recently spoke to Kellie Miller, Senior Policy Development Officer at Renfrewshire Council, about their response to developing PB processes for young people as part of their Celebrating Renfrewshire work. Bringing together 7 local partnerships and £150,000 of funds, the process has seen success in the past with young people aged 12-25 all offered a vote.

Engaging online

In 2020 the challenge was how can they build on this work and then, as the pandemic struck, how could they move the process entirely online.

One focus for the team was trying to bring young people from a more diverse background together to be involved in the steering group for the process. But without face-to-face conversations and relationship building how easily could this happen? Many young people don't have the IT access that's needed and it pales in comparison to in-person events and engagement activity.

Kellie reflects on this challenge: Face-to-face is essential for engaging people in PB, especially those that we've struggled to reach in the past. We also can't make assumptions about technology because not every young person has access to IT, or the skills and capacities to use it effectively. 

Where they found success was working with Renfrewshire Youth Voice (RYV), a young people-led organisation that bridges the gap between young people and the decision-making process both locally and at a national level.

The group played a key role by supporting and facilitating the council in its work with the steering group. The group developed the application for funds, promoted the fund and gave guidance and support throughout the application process. They also shifted focus of the criteria to the impact of covid-19, especially in relation to young people's mental health. 

Digital platforms

The other challenge this year was the online platform for young people to prioritise their ideas and vote. In previous years, Celebrating Renfrewshire has used the Young Scot platform which had worked well. But how can we reach those who don't have a Young Scot card? One solution was to link the Young Scot system to the Glo Connect system: the online email system used in schools across Scotland. 

The team also focused on engaging groups who already worked with young people online and supported them to get information out to young people through the provision of information and access codes to the Young Scot site.

Kellie and her team worked with colleagues from education and Youth Services in the council, as well as with headteachers and business support for schools to engage them in the process. All-in-all more 10,000 emails were sent to students across Renfrewshire asking for their ideas.

Disappointingly, only a small number of young people were reached using Glo Connect, highlighting the challenges of engaging people online and the importance of using a range of different methods. 

Kellie reflects that, despite them advertising through established channels such as the council’s social media, in the future they might be better served using platforms such as YouTube or TikTok - essentially utilising all platforms which young people subscribe to.

Another key piece of learning was the importance of giving schools lots of time to build up to this kind of work. With lots on their plates, Kellie emphasised the importance of building those relationships and, even without the pandemic, just how stretched education colleagues’ time can be. 

Outcome

Despite the challenges, Celebrating Renfrewshire culminated in an online announcement event, which was hosted by members of RYV. More than 50 people attended the event, representing a range local organisations, all keen to hear the results of the vote. The young people worked very closely with the council’s IT department, increasing their knowledge of PB and building relationships and capacity for the future.

In the end the process saw more than 1,700 young people voting online during the process, with 5,163 votes cast and 68 projects in Renfrewshire funded to a total of £124,437. A great achievement for a PB process carried out in the midst of a pandemic. 

For Kellie, the final takeaway is that while digital has enabled them to carry on PB during these extraordinary times, it’s best used as part of a mixed approach with face-to-face conversation. 

It’s a good reminder that while we’ve learned huge amounts about shifting life online, it’s good to keep one eye on the post-pandemic future, so we can integrate these new digital skills in the real world once we can meet in person again.