Pioneering projects to share local budget decisions with citizens

24/11/10

Nine pioneering projects have been selected to take part in 'Your Local Budget' - a programme designed to give people a say in how mainstream local authority budgets are spent. 

The projects will trial a variety of methods for involving citizens in budget decisions and range from working with services users to trial how pooled personalised care budgets can be used to provide day centre activities, to examining how parish councils can use their local precept - income raised from parishioners - to support the provision of local services that are at risk from budget cuts.

The projects are part of 'Your Local Budget', a programme launched on 3 November by The Big Society Network and the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), with support from the Participatory Budgeting Unit. Its aim is to develop new ways to involve local people in tough spending decisions, building on the pioneering approaches to Participatory Budgeting that have been developed around the world.

The programme is designed to harness the knowledge, ideas and capacity of local people to find more innovative and effective solutions to the financial and other challenges that face public services.  It will also increase public engagement on vital issues, improve trust and offer a greater role for local people in the design and delivery of services.

Speaking at the Participatory Budget Unit Conference in Westminster last week, Paul Twivy, CEO of Big Society Network said: 'This is an exciting opportunity to connect citizens to real local spending decisions, we have received many ground-breaking applications and it's great to be able to work with some of the most pioneering local authorities in the country as they open the way for direct engagement on core budget issues.'

Philip Colligan, executive director of NESTA's public services lab, says: 'There is no shortage of enthusiasm and drive from local communities to try radical new approaches to involving citizens in issues that affect them. Together with these pioneering projects, Your Local Budget aims to harness that enthusiasm, and discover the best ways to unlock the capacity of citizens to make effective budget decisions.'

The areas taking part in the programme are:

• Norfolk County Council
• Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
• Manton Community Alliance, in Nottinghamshire
• Herefordshire Association of Local Councils
• Dulverton Town Council, in Somerset
• Sheffield City Council
• Liverpool City Council
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead

During the next stage, each area will receive support and advice to build a sustainable programme of activity which will be put into practice during 2011.

Because of the high quality and quantity of responses to the call for applicants, a wider group of authorities will be given the opportunity to join a learning network to share practical skills on budget engagement and service innovation, further details to follow.

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Notes to Editor:

For further information please contact:

Oli Henman (Big Society Network) on 07803 169 074 or oli@thebigsociety.co.uk

Jan Singleton (NESTA) on 020 7438 2606 or jan.singleton@nesta.org.uk

About Big Society Network

The Big Society Network is a newly established independent organisation with the mission to turn the Big Society into a practical, accessible and rewarding reality of everyday value to citizens, enabling them to successfully take action in their local areas.

www.thebigsociety.net

About NESTA

NESTA is the UK's foremost independent expert on how innovation can solve some of the country's major economic and social challenges. Its work is enabled by an endowment, funded by the National Lottery, and it operates at no cost to the government or taxpayer. NESTA is a world leader in its field and carries out its work through a blend of experimental programmes, analytical research and investment in early-stage companies. 

www.nesta.org.uk

About the Participatory Budgeting Unit

The PB Unit is a project of Church Action on Poverty, a registered charity, and supports and promotes the implementation and development of PB in the UK.  In addition to contributing to numerous conferences and workshops, it provides a range of support services for practitioners, including delivery of training, consultancy support to projects, facilitation of steering groups and design workshops.

www.participatorybudgeting.org.uk

About Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting is an approach to involving people in the economic decisions that affect them.  It is much more than consultation and puts real power in the hands of citizens, enabling communities to work with budget holders to define local priorities, identify available resources and allocate these accordingly. A method that originated in Brazil at a time of economic hardship, Participatory Budgeting has since been adopted in various forms in authorities across the UK over the last ten years. To date, however, Participatory Budgeting exercises in the UK have focused primarily on decisions on additional investment (such as discretionary grants) rather than main public service budgets.