Participatory Budgeting – The issue of representation

The following is taken in its entirety from the PB Unit Website. It’s a long article included here as a result of the Community Grapevine. However, it provides a useful contribution to the general debate on ‘representation’ as well as on Participatory Budgeting.

The issue of representation

One of the most common questions the PB Unit is asked at conferences, seminars, and training events is about representation. There are two main issues that are commonly raised: how important is it that different groups are fairly represented and how do you go about ensuring fair representation and how do you manage the potential of particular individuals or groups ‘hijacking’ an event by getting all their supporters to vote for their project? This page aims to address some of those issues and help organisers think through the risks around representation.

Participatory Budgeting Conference Report

A National Conference on PB – Participatory Budgeting – was held in Manchester recently. This was used as an opportunity by Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to announce a series of measures aimed at mainstreaming PB by 2012.

Visit the PB Unit’s Website for more information.

Participatory Budgeting – Giving local people a role in local spending

The Department of Communities and Local Government have produced a document explaining the support available to communities, local councils and other partners to deliver PB (Participatory Budgeting).

In the forward to the publication Hazel Blears MP has indicated that PB and other measures announced in Communities in Control in July will mark the definitive end of the “Whitehall knows best” mentality.

The proposals involve working with the PB Unit to establish learning sets in each region to champion and promote participatory budgeting.

It remains to be seen how the PB proposals will be responded to in Blackpool, but the document stipulates that communities should be able to call for their local authority to use PB. Indeed there are new duties on councils to respond to petitions, including any calling for PB.

Of course, a local authority might respond with alternative proposals or a reason why PB is not appropriate. What happens then is not so clear.

Fundamentally, the document is about positively promoting awareness of PB and creating opportunities for using the methodology to bring “devolution to the doorstep”.

The document is available here to view or download as a Word Document or as a PDF file.

Definitive guide to Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting or “PB” directly involves local people in making decisions on the spending and priorities for a defined local budget.

The PB Unit has published it’s toolkit on participatory budgeting – the one stop resource on participatory budgeting projects. It’s the definitive ‘how to’ guide for PB.

It’s a resource which will help you implement PB in your local area.  It has everything from templates and resources to step by step guides and information on managing PB – or “Community Kitties” as Hazel Blears prefers to call it.

A’hard copy’ version of the Tool Kit available which is a professionally printed, spiral bound document (for easy photocopying) and comes with a DVD from an event in Newcastle (good for generating enthusiasm) and a pocket for additional sheets.

The publication will be an ongoing developing document and the PB Unit will produce sheets and send them out for you to add into your toolkit.  They will charge a modest fee of £10 including postage and packing to cover their costs.  The additional information sheets are included in this price.  For further information write to: PB Tool Kit, The PB Unit, Church Action on Poverty, Central Buildings, Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JQ.

You can also download the document for free from the PB website, but it won’t contain the DVD or additional material.