Event report: PB In a Digital World
/Read about our PB in a Digital World online workshop held on 25th August 2020.
Read MoreRead about our PB in a Digital World online workshop held on 25th August 2020.
Read MoreTwo events during the PB youth accelerator events in Glasgow this April 22nd.
Read MoreBids are being invited for a share of £70,000 that is being made available for Youth Work Projects across Angus.
Read MoreThe Church of Scotland is recruiting a PB Development Worker for a short term contact until March 2018 to continue to develop Churches’ understanding of participatory budgeting.
Read MoreOctober 12, 2017
On 12th October PB Scotland brought together a group of people with a great interest in participatory budgeting to take part in our learning event: The Foundations of Participatory Budgeting, in Dundee. This learning event was a chance for us to go back to basics and explain how PB works and why it matters, and also for those who have been involved in a process, to share their experiences with others.
The morning began with a warm welcome from David Reilly, Development Manager at SCDC who soon had the participants feeling right at ease with a fun, interactive ice-breaker.
Once everyone was well acquainted, David began his presentation, explaining what PB is and how it can be done which was supported with a little help of a short video commissioned for the Kirk’s Church and Society Council.
David highlighted the values of PB while also stating that:
“PB isn’t always perfect and we shouldn’t judge PB against a perfect ideal. It’s helpful to compare it to what happens now and consider that these decisions are already being taken, but not by communities themselves.”
David’s presentation was followed by an uplifting and inspirational presentation from Jan Pringle, Manager of Burnfoot Community Futures in Hawick, Scottish Borders. Jan shared her experience of PB after Burnfoot Community Futures (BCF) received £40k from Community Choices Fund in 2016 to address social inequalities in response to community needs. This resulted in 26 projects being submitted, with each project having the opportunity to present their proposal at an event held in Burnfoot Community School. Over 300 votes were received and 13 projects were awarded funding. Jan gave the group an outline of how the Steering Group tackled the PB process, which she highlighted wasn’t easy but was well worth it:
“To see folk coming together in our community, being united and the power of the volunteering that went on behind the screens has been phenomenal”.
Jan couldn’t express enough that the major key success of their project was the Steering Group.
“The power of your community, they know what works”.
Next up we had Rachel Green, Independent Consultant, who shared with the group her experience of PB from the perspective of a Local Authority. Rachel who previously worked for Angus Council gave her reflections of the challenges they faced during the PB process, while also sharing her optimism and encouragement for the future of Participatory Budgeting in Scotland.
Rachel gave an example of an online and offline integration PB process that Angus used in 2016. This was in the form of a digital tool, Dialogue by Delib which offered an online site to help widen participation and which particularly helped to involve the non-English speaking community in Angus by offering different language translations. The site was used to generate conversation and ideas about community needs and the conversation which created the most interactions were submitted to the application process. Once applications were submitted, a voting day took place. Read the case study here.
One of the core challenges, but successes of the approach in Angus, was being able to respond to the Steering Group’s decisions throughout the process. Rachel commented that they were keen to ensure that the Steering Group had genuine control over the process in order to build the community’s trust in developing the participatory approach.
Within Rachel’s presentation she recommended a useful research paper by The Democratic Society (Demsoc) which highlights how digital tools can support PB processes. The report draws from Demsoc’s own research and workshops and discussions with 18 councils currently working on PB around Scotland. Read here.
“PB is about resources, skills, energy, participation and shared responsible, not necessary about spending money”
Rounding up her presentation, Rachel left us with a final thought “PB isn’t perfect but don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good”.
After our two speakers, the participants moved into open discussions and were asked:
What are the opportunities for using PB in our own work/community?
What are the ‘sticky’ points about a PB process and how can we overcome them?
The responses from participants were gathered and what emerged from the discussion was that people believe there are lots of opportunities for PB in their work, yet there remains to be some challenges in terms of overcoming the perception of risk, particularly within mainstream services. Some key learning which was identified by participants was:
PB takes time! And funding a PB process must take this into consideration
There are risks, however it is best not to be too concerned about auditing. Participants described a desire to ‘just do it’ and learn along the way
PB is about more than just the funds, it is about seizing opportunities and thinking about resources as a whole
It’s very important to consider the participation of those sections of the community who may face additional barriers, e.g. minority communities
It would be helpful to have a single ‘go-to person’ within councils to support PB processes.
It’s important not to forget the starting point for communities – they may require support and time to trust in the process – good communication is key to this
It might be helpful to have a single online system for voting in Scotland, based on learning from those what work well, and those that don’t!
The day provided an opportunity for participants to learn from each other to become better informed of what PB is and how it can be used in communities, and to explore some of the challenges and solutions to delivering a PB process. Some comments from the day:
“That was such a clear and useful way to learn about PB- I learned loads, thank you!”
“Very informative and greats advice for us going forward in our community group”
“Really useful information, great speakers and great discussion, feel confident about PB”
The presentations from the PB learning event are now available. Check on the links below.
The creation of a Charter of Quality for Participatory Budgeting in Portugal, based on thirteen principles.
Read MoreThe Welsh Government is exploring the role Participatory Budgeting (PB) could play in the Welsh Government budget highlighted in a new report.
Read MoreIn this blog, Kathleen Glazik, the Policy Manager for the Scottish Government’s Community Empowerment Team in Edinburgh, goes on to highlight the key principle of Scotland’s strategic approach and the progress of PB in Scotland.
Read MoreOver 600 votes were placed on 11 local projects, resulting in £60k in grant awards.
Read MoreA pilot program consisting of 15 subnational governments with action plans to open up government throughout 2017.
Read MoreFree to attend and taking place at the Manchester Metropolitan University, up to 70 people will gather on the afternoon of the 18th September 2017.
Read MoreA delegation from Fife and Glasgow, with the support of What Works Scotland, had the unique opportunity to visit Paris in December 2016 to learn about how Participatory Budgeting is being delivered at their scale.
Read MoreDo you ran a community group, activity or service in Troon, Barassie, Muirhead, Dundonald or Loans? Now's your chance to secure up to £1,000 to help make a difference in your local community and decide which other community projects should be funded. Submit your application TODAY!
Read MoreA learning event exploring the relationship between co-production, pb and commissioning processes through real examples about what works in co-producing budgets.
Read MoreLocal residents have their say on how money is spent on a number of projects in their community, thanks to a new participatory budgeting initiative launched by Midlothian Council.
Read MoreIt takes a lot to fill a community hall on a rainy Saturday morning, but for the people of the Woodburn and Dalkeith communities, the chance to showcase their local activities and bid for their share of £18,000 was just enough to whet their appetites.
Read MorePolice in Edinburgh and the City of Edinburgh Council are inviting people to vote for projects designed to create a city free from Islamophobia on Saturday 28th January 2017. It is also possible to vote online and in public libraries.
Read MoreWhat Works Scotland (WWS) has produced a new paper presenting findings and reflections from ongoing research in the WWS Participatory Budgeting programme, and signposting future directions for inquiry and practice.
Read MoreWe are looking initially for a small group of people to come together to establish a core reference group for network activities and for advising on policy as participatory democracy in Scotland grows.
Read MorePB Partners are delivering training for people auditing public sector programmes or reporting on outcomes on Monday, 6 February 2017 from 10:00 to 15:00 (GMT) in Edinburgh.
Read MoreParticipatory budgeting in Scotland.
Participatory budgeting (PB) is a way for people to have a direct say in how local money is spent.
PB Scotland is developed by the
Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC)
with funding from the Scottish Government.
For more information please contact info@pbscotland.scot.
Terms & conditions.