Blog

We need to move beyond the ‘Councillors know best’ approach in Edinburgh

Maggie Chapman is a Green Councillor in Edinburgh's Leith ward. She talks about her experiences of PB there.

Participatory budgeting in the big apple

Impressions of the New York PB process and international PB conference by Jez Hall, Associate of the PB Unit.

We the people will decide how the money will be spent: Reclaiming power, politics and money for the Common Good

This is a re-blog from Niall Cooper's blog of 27th March 2012. You can find the original here http://niallcooper.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/we-the-people-will-decide-how-the-money-will-be-spent-reclaiming-power-politics-and-money-for-the-common-good/

Where is the empowerment when you only let me have a go once?

Blog by Gilles Pradeau, an intern with The People's Budget within the Leonardo da Vinci mobility programme. He is going to work for the rest of the year for a civil parish in Lisbon which has implemented PB.

Choose Health in Deptford

By Jez Hall based on a voting event he visited on 6th December 2011

An act of Charity or an entitlement? Who decides where the axe should fall...

This blog was written by Jez Hall

Pathways through participation

By Ruth Jackson, based on a workshop held by Involve on their Pathways through Participation research

Kids catch PB – how the Participatory Budgeting idea can pass into a community

This was written by Alan Budge based on his experiences supporting the Eastfield PB.

Discussions on the localism bill

This blog was written by Jez Hall and based on posts on a discussion about the Localism Bill on the Big Society LinkedIn group.

Reinventing local councils - facilitating a bigger society....by Jez Hall

Its going to take money to build a big society, right? But there isn’t any, ok? So lets just go home instead, its hopeless.

My trip to the Shetlands...by Andrea Jones

The Shetland Islands are a surprising long way! The TV weather map gives the impression that they are just off the coast of Scotland but they are as near to the Faroe Islands and Norway as they are to Aberdeen.

The Big Society and “Easy” Engagement...by Phil Teece

I have many concerns about the current policy agenda, but one of my principle fears is the temptation councils, partnerships and others might feel to sacrifice meaningful engagement with their communities for something quick and easy; specifically online budget consultation.

Total place and the budget report - by Ruth Jackson

I spent a very boring yesterday afternoon reading the budget report. I’m sure that accountants and economists find such things stimulating; however, being neither, I do not.

Can PB close the commissioning gap and support community and social enterprise? - by Jez Hall

A recent report about community organisations becoming involved in commissioning raises a tantalising possibility.

….and I’ll PB in Scotland afore ye !! by Vince Howe

Last Thursday I was one of a small team from the PB Unit who travelled to Edinburgh to meet colleagues to develop the first PB work in Scotland.

Evaluating PB - by Ruth Jackson

It seems that the issue of evaluation is something that has always been there but seems to have risen up the agenda in recent months.

Different types of PB…what is PB really? - By Ruth Jackson

At the end of January, I went to speak at an international conference on PB in Berlin. Overall, the conference was very interesting and I met a number of people in the international PB world that I’d previously only emailed or heard about. What really struck me, however, was how different PB is in different places around the world.

The quiet before the storm? - By Jez Hall

Maybe it’s the time of year, or the fact I’ve been involved with thinking about PB for 10 years now, but I’ve been in reflective mood recently.

Salford PB community workshop - by Andrea Jones

Thirty five people came together at St George’s Community Centre, Salford on Friday 3 for an event entitled “Take Part in Participatory Budgeting- a community leadership master class”.

Community cohesion, the BNP and PB - by Ruth Jackson

I went to a conference about Strengthening Community Cohesion last week. It was held the same day as the controversial Question Time that featured Nick Griffin from the BNP. Needless to say, the impending programme and the focus on community cohesion dominated many a discussion.