Participatory budgeting (often shortened as PB) is a way for people to directly vote on how local money should be spent.

PB comes in all shapes and size, but normally involves members of the community voting on how to spend part of the budget of a public body, such as a local council.

Participatory budgeting is happening across Scotland and is used alongside other models of community engagement and empowerment.

What we do

Participatory budgeting is a key area of work for us. As part of our programmes we developed PB Scotland, a way for people to come together to share their experiences and learn more about PB. 

We also have a keen interest in different ways of involving people in decision making and see PB as an important tool for increasing wider democratic involvement and community empowerment.

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Our work

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PB Scotland
PB Scotland

PB Scotland acts as a hub for sharing and learning about the work being done by participatory budgeting initiatives around Scotland.

PB news

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How can we fund participatory budgeting?

Participatory budgeting is a way for communities to take direct decisions on how budgets are spent. But, in a time when those budgets are stretched or hard to come by, how can we properly fund PB? 

Participatory budgeting encourages democratic participation in Edinburgh school 

In Edinburgh, the Ripple Project and Craigentinney Primary School set out to use PB to empower pupils and encourage an understanding of how to make difficult decisions about competing priorities in a democratic and engaging way.  

Video: How participatory budgeting can better include women — and why that matters

What happens when women make the decisions about community priorities? That’s the story this short video tells from Santa Ana Tzacuala in Mexico, where PB has enabled innovative ideas from women and children to protect the environment and create spaces for families.

How can government policy help at a local level?

This new section of Communities Channel Scotland aims to provide straightforward introductions to legislation

Scottish Government programme for government 2018/19

ThIS documents sets out the key areas of focus for the government, as well the specific legislation that will pass through parliament over the next 12 months.

Sharing learning across Europe about social innovation

This EU Funded project involving citizens, social enterprises and organisations from the third and public sectors in developing and promoting innovative solutions to societal challenges.