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Over the life of the PB Unit we were asked lots of questions.

Due to the ending of the work of the PB Unit we are no longer responding to or adding new questions.

Existing questions are still being displayed.

For general comments and queries about PB please use the contact link at the top of the page.

If the matter is urgent or you are looking for expert help for your PB programme ring PB Partners on 07963 706106.

 

Questions

How far beyond small pots of funding can PB really go without major cultural change?

Is there a conflict between cabinet style decision making and empowering residents?

Most of the projects so far only use a small amount of money. Do people really bother to get involved?

Does PB transfer power to elected members?

What happens when the expert 'knows best' about local issues?

How do you ensure good representation of the community at events?

Who will be the leaders in taking forward PB?

How do you avoid the merits of schemes being determined by 'populist' decision making processes?

how will Participatory budget affect fire and rescue services? will fire services have to give oppertunity for pb

We are located in a community whose representative wishes to explore PB. One concern is that local NGOs will attempt to steer their clients to sway consensus, which they have done in the past. How do we balance what are essentially lobbyists for the NGO's themselves against greater community priorities?

We're keen to make sure that the evaluation of our pilots is as thorough as possible but we know that it will be difficult to get information about who HASN'T engaged in the process and why not. Can you suggest any methods for analysing non-participation?

We are in the middle of a significant savings exercise (taking £3m out of our £14m net budget over 2 years) and I am thinking about a PB exercise involving choices about where the savings are made. In other words, this isn't about deciding where to spend, but where to cut. Do you have any advice or case studies of a similar exercise?

What are the benefits for local authorities/government engaging in PB. I've read that it can save money, improve the quality of decision and improves policy implementation. Can you point me towards case studies that can provide evidence for these claims?

We are about to launch a small grants PB scheme in one of our wards and are working very closely with a local community development group to ensure that the process is as fully embedded in the community. There is currently a lack of agreement about the minimum age limit of voters. could you please indicate whether minimum ages have been imposed in other schemes and suggest whether there is any concensus on an appropriate minimum age.

How would one measure quantitatively the impact of PB on municipal spending

what are the consrains and challenges of participatory budgeting.
what strategies can be used to overcome these contraints and challenges

I am presently looking at possibly piloting a joint Liverpool City Council and partner agencies PB event in a district of Liverpool (6 wards). Most of the partner agencies are the usual i.e. police, PCT, RSL's etc. Do you know if a joint partner agency has been devleloped elsewhere?

Is there any case study on participatory budgeting in russia? how is it going on?

Dear Sirs, Do you have available any statistics on the average fund size that PB's start with and it source

Discuss how participatory budgeting works and give its advantages and disadvantages

Do you know of any instances of community members being trained to facilitate PB processes and work alongside budget holders to make PB successful?

1) How can I find data on the specific projects which were funded in Keighley through the PB procedure over the last years and how was the available money allocated to each project?
2) When was the last time that PB was used in Keighley or Bradford District Council? Does it take place on an annual basis?

I am a parent of a 4 year old who has recently begun at his local primary school. I'd like to find ways of encouraging a more participatory culture at the school. The headteacher is interested in talking more about this as this is something they want to develop too, can you recommend any resources?

We want to get on with it - what resources/assistance is available?

How do you convert the sceptics?

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