Case Studies
The Village Spend, Coedpoeth, North Wales
Together Creating Communities, a broad based community organisation, together with Help the Aged and the Community Council in Coedpoeth, used precept funds in a PB process.
Keighley Decision Day, Bradford
Bradford Local Strategic Partnership (Bradford Vision), decided to distribute the 2006/07 round of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF) in Keighley using a process of Participatory Budgeting.
U-Decide Children and Young People's Pilot, Newcastle
The U-decide Children and Young People’s pilot used funds allocated by the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) but were delivered by the local council. This pilot used a participatory grant making model in which funds were allocated either directly to community projects, or to groups who would work in partnership with the council and other service providers to deliver the ideas.
Harrow Open Budget
The Harrow Open Budget initiative was initiated by key officials in the London Borough of Harrow to open up the process of developing the 2006/7 Council budget.
East Salford Highways Participatory Budgeting Case Study
IIn February 2008 Salford City Council held its second participatory budgeting event open to the public.
In Your Hands, Morecambe
Poulton Neigbhourhood Management arranged an event with Poulton community in February 2008 to distribute £20,000 on cleaner and greener projects using PB. The event was a great success, with over 100 people attending, 92% of which said they would take part again. 26 groups applied and 13 were funded through the process.
The People's Fund, East End & Hendon, Sunderland
The People's Fund was one of the original 5 pilots that the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister funded to trial PB. They used a small community chest approach, with two events using PB to allocate £15,000 and £35,000 respectively.
Thornhill plus You, Southampton
Southampton are piloting a new approach to participatory budgeting, using funds provided to them from the Primary Care Trust for health related projects. The event is on 27th June.
Children & Young People's pilot in Walsall
Walsall New Deal For Communities is working with 4 primary schools, with children aged 6-10 years and the school's councils to enable the children to collectively decide how to spend £15,000.
An integrated approach to PB in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire County Council have taken a different approach to PB. Rather than trial a small grants pot, as most would when starting out with PB, Buckinghamshire are going to pilot 4 different kinds of PB at once. Buckinghamshire is aiming to integrate PB as 'the way we do community engagement'.
Claremont & Weaste devolved highways budget case study
In 2006, Salford City Council made a decision to devolve decision making for the allocation of £100,000 of highways funding (Block 3 Transport capital – ‘Other Minor Works’) to each of the eight community committees in the city.
Voice Your Choice, Manton, Nottinghamshire
Just under 2 years ago Manton Community Alliance was chosen as a pilot area for a participatory budgeting pilot, the aim was to allocate a budget for priorities in the area that have been set by the community.
The Children's Fund, Newcastle
After months of preparation, 139 young people attended a participatory budgeting event in Newcastle in May 2008 to cast a 20% vote in the procurement of services for the city’s £2.25m Children’s Fund.
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