The Scottish Government and COSLA have announced that at least 1% of local government budgets will be decided through participatory budgeting (PB) by the end of 2021, with £100 million in council funds potentially available
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.
Anyone interested in PB in Scotland should have a look at this collective summary of reports from PB projects funded through the Scottish Government's Community Choices Fund in 2016/17.
Read MoreDavid Reilly gives us his thoughts about the recent Young Movers Community Celebration night - and the difference young people are making in Glasgow.
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 MoreThese case studies by Demsoc capture key learning points from Scotland's early exploration of digital tools to support participatory processes at a local level.
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 MoreThis toolkit is intended to support any individual or group organising a PB activity to plan how to evaluate their PB process, and to collate the evidence and information required.
Read MoreOn 31 March 2017 Cornerstone House Centre Cumbernauld hosted the final PB event where 21 local community groups shared £24,000.
Read MoreThe City of Edinburgh Council has produceda series of videos on PB in the city. In addition to introducing PB, the videos give perspectives on PB from voters, projects and funders.
Read MoreThe Scottish Government has announced that the 2017/18 Community Choices Fund is open for applications.
Read MoreThis comprehensive guide from PB Partners lays out 10 essential actions to record, monitor and evaluate the impact of a PB programme.
Read MorePB was discussed at the Church of Scotland General Assembly, where people heard from congregations who have been part of the projects.
Read MoreThis briefing from the Health and Social Care Academy highlights the potential of participatory budgeting (PB) within health and social care
Read MoreThis toolkit, developed by the US-based Participatory Budgeting Project, provides an introduction to PB.
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 MoreWith local election turnout still relatively low, where do we start with getting people more engaged – and where does participatory budgeting fit in?
Read MoreAs Participatory Budgeting moves from Grants to Mainstream Budgets the PB Advisory Group are looking for clarity about the road ahead.
Read MoreBlog post by ng homes about its work with young people across North Glasgow, culminating in a Community Choices budgeting event on 28th March in Springburn Academy, Glasgow.
Read MoreIn this blog, David Ramsay, Development Worker, Glasgow Homelessness Network, goes into detail about some of the work he carried out to engage people in Glasgow community budgeting events which took place last year.
Read MoreParticipatory budgeting in Scotland.
Participatory budgeting (PB) is a way for people to have a direct say in how local money is spent.
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PB Scotland is developed by the
Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC)
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