Over the last five years we’ve seen participatory budgeting (PB) taking place in local communities the length and breadth of Scotland almost every week of the year. Always energetic, often celebratory, voter numbers in PB processes continued to rise as the idea of deciding on public spend took hold in peoples’ psyche.

Now, as we continue to grapple with the effects of Covid-19, it’s difficult to imagine when we will see community venues once again filled to the brim with people sharing their ideas, deliberating key issues and casting their votes on where public money should be spent. But our (extra)ordinary citizens have been busy.

Across Scotland we have seen communities respond in real time to the effects of the Covid-19 crisis. Shaped by local knowledge and experience, their actions have been swift, impactful and widely celebrated. This response has kept thousands of people safe and supported and, had it not been there, many people would have experienced adverse outcomes and demand on public services would be higher – immediately and further down the line.

In many areas of Scotland, understandably, planning for PB has reduced as attention and resources have rightly been taken up by managing the impacts of coronavirus – but, now we have seen the power and positivity of a community designed response to the impacts of a global pandemic. Surely now is the time to involve people and communities in helping to decide what happens next and where our valuable resources are best deployed?

And that’s just what PB Scotland Network members have told us. From more than 60 responses to our survey, we’ve seen how the impact of Covid-19 has led to the shift of staffing and resources to meet immediate and pressing need. But, crucially, we’ve also seen an appetite for using participatory budgeting to help us ensure that citizens have a stake and a contribution in supporting Scotland to move through the next stage of recovery from this global crisis, and beyond.

We have an fantastic opportunity to build on the progress we have made over the last few years, to use PB to bring citizens together to reflect and learn from a diverse range of experiences and to decide our collective priorities to help us thrive and ensure that we are fully equipped to meet future challenges.

Fiona Garven is Director of Scottish Community Development Centre, which hosts PB Scotland, and supports best practice in community development.