Participatory budgeting

Participatory budgeting is a process in which residents help decide how part of a public budget is spent, typically by proposing and voting on projects.

Participatory budgeting cycle: A recurring sequence in which residents propose, develop, vote on, and monitor public projects. This sequence describes how a participatory budgeting process turns proposals into funded work.
Porto Alegre: A city in southern Brazil where participatory budgeting began in 1989. The city’s 1989 process became the best-known early model for participatory budgeting.
School participatory budgeting: A school-based process in which students help decide how a designated budget is spent. Schools adapt the process to student needs and smaller, locally controlled budgets.
Public consultation: A process through which public authorities solicit views before making decisions. Consultation gathers opinions, while participatory budgeting gives residents a defined role in allocating funds.
Participatory budgeting assembly: A public meeting where residents discuss needs, develop proposals, or set priorities for a budget. Assemblies provide a face-to-face venue for shaping proposals before voting.
Workers' Party (Brazil): A Brazilian political party founded in 1980 that governed Porto Alegre when its participatory budget was established. The party’s local government helped create the original Porto Alegre experiment.
Youth participatory budgeting: A budgeting process that gives young people a direct role in selecting public projects. Youth-focused programs extend budget decisions to groups often excluded from municipal voting.
Deliberative democracy: A democratic approach that gives reasoned public discussion a central role in collective decisions. Deliberation can shape proposals and priorities within participatory budgeting.
Participatory budgeting ballot: A voting instrument through which eligible participants rank or select proposed public projects. The ballot converts deliberation into a decision about which proposals receive funding.
Brazilian redemocratization: Brazil’s transition from military rule to civilian democratic government during the 1980s. The return to democracy created political conditions for new forms of citizen participation.

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