Author: Blakey, Heather

Source: Participatory Learning and Action, Volume 58, Number 1, June 2008 , pp. 61-65(5)

Publisher: IIED - Participatory Learning and Action

Abstract:

Participatory budgeting is a way of involving communities in real decisions, derived from nearly 20 years' experience of popular mobilisation in Latin America, where the people of Porto Alegre, Brazil, have been involved in spending the city's regeneration budget since 1989. In Brazil, participatory budgeting grew out of a particular social, political and ideological context, led by a grassroots impetus for greater participation. This article is a shortened version of a paper entitled 'Radical innovation or technical fix? Participatory Budgeting in the UK', which explores what happened when that model of participation was transplanted to the UK, where it risks being seen as a 'technical fix' divorced from its original context. In one pilot in the north of England, participatory budgeting did inspire large turnouts at public meetings, when people understood that their actions would make a tangible difference to outcomes. However, national constraints, such as pre-set government 'targets', conflicted with a commitment to genuine participation, and encouraged control of the process by official organisers. Local participation was focused on helping to find the best way of meeting the targets, rather than deciding what the priorities should be. This article (and the paper from which it is drawn) considers what the potential of PB in the UK might be.

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Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2008-06-01

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• Participatory Learning and Action (formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading informal journal on participatory approaches and methods. It is published 2-3 times a year and includes articles of both general and thematic interest. PLA draws on the expertise of guest editors and authors, providing timely accounts and critical analysis about participatory development in specific fields. All articles are peer reviewed by an International Editorial Board. Subscriptions are free to readers from the South. For more information and to subscribe, visit www.planotes.org.

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