Medborgerbudgettering

Medborgerbudgettering, or participatory budgeting, is a democratic process in which residents directly decide how to allocate a portion of public budgets. It aims to increase citizen influence, transparency, and accountability in public spending.

The approach originated in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989, and has since spread worldwide, adapting to city, regional, and school contexts. It typically involves a defined budget share earmarked for participatory decision-making.

The process usually includes proposal collection from communities, deliberative meetings (in person or online), project evaluation using criteria such as cost, impact, and feasibility, and a voting stage. Projects that receive the most support are funded within the designated budget.

Common objectives include promoting inclusion of marginalized groups, improving service delivery, and building trust in local government. It often emphasizes transparency through public access to budgets, meeting information, and criteria for funding decisions.

Variants exist, including direct participatory budgeting at the neighborhood or district level, and multi-year or citywide PB. Some programs pair PB with open data platforms and feedback mechanisms to monitor implementation and outcomes.

Evaluation and challenges: results vary; potential benefits include better-aligned investments and civic engagement, but challenges include ensuring broad participation, managing complexity, avoiding capture by interest groups, and sustaining funding and administrative capacity.