Originally published 6 November 2007. This article is retained from the tCI archive. Law, policy or practice may have changed since publication.
Okay, so calling them “community kitties” maybe does the idea less than justice. But, had Hazel Blears used the term “participatory budgeting”, who’d have bothered to look twice at these proposals? The question is Will they work? and do they offer anything beyond the existing myriad of public engagement methods?
There are plenty of doubters. Existing Councillors and traditionalists are absolutely right to point out that the “kitty” already exists; it’s called your local Council. It already has the thankless task of trying to meet potentially limitless demands from very limited budgets, and the process hardly merits a story in the local paper let alone has residents queuing outside the Town Hall for tickets to witness the spectacle! Neither is what’s proposed necessarily mass participation. Nor is it necessarily any more inclusive. It might not even make for better decisions!
On the other hand, here are three reasons why this is definitely worth trying, and might succeed.
1. Decisions about money are easier to understand. Far too many consultations are about vague or intangible bureaucratic proposals that the average citizen finds boring or irrelevant. Sadly this includes much well-intentioned dialogues about social equalities or community cohesion. Asking the local population Do you agree with this way of meeting the Gender Equality Duty? won’t attract their attention as readily as Should we spend £300,000 on a new facility for working mothers? When policies are converted into spending plans, the rhetoric comes face to face with reality, and people notice the difference.
- Perceived power attracts involvement.
What Henry Kissinger called the “ultimate aphrodisiac” applies even to a District Council or an NHS Trust. Part of the malaise in local government stems from a consensus that there is little point in getting involved with local Councils or quangos, because they have little or no real power. The 2006 White Paper supports this analysis, and many of its suggestions (e.g. Community call for action) are designed to alter this perception, and to attract younger, more dynamic Councillors. Irrespective of that outcome, however, seeing money being spent will highlight power in the hands of those who take cash decisions, and will act like a magnet for those with an interest ....in both senses of the word.
- This is about horizontal dialogue.
Those who study consultations closely will know that most dialogues are vertical; they consist of consultors and consultees largely in bilateral, up-and-down type discussions with each other. So the cyclists argue with the Council about more cycle-paths, whilst the pedestrians argue with the Council about road safety; and motorists call the Council to complain about the other road users! Seldom do we create space for stakeholders with parallel or conflicting views to engage with each other ...... in horizontal dialogue.
Yet this is often the most productive form of consultation, and helps with consensus-building, conflict resolution and in building stronger, more cohesive communities. Because it obliges people to prioritise from competitive claims on resources, participatory budgeting is great for this horizontal dialogue. What we now need is for professionals to study the various ways that this can be implemented; there is no single formula, and the much-quoted Porto Alegre precedent may not be the right role-model. Neither would we want to see this become a quick-win bandwagon, to be used inappropriately, instead of other more suitable methods just in order to win “Brownie points”
The truth is that this is not really a Gordon Brown initiative. Participatory budgeting has been around a long time, and in any case, Brown seems more taken with Citizens Juries and Forums. It does, however, look as if it’s an idea whose time has come, and should be given a fair wind. Trigger points
- The ten pilot areas are Merseyside, Nottinghamshire, Birmingham, Lewisham, Bradford, Salford, Sunderland, Newcastle, Southampton and St Helens; is there one near you, and can you monitor their progress?
- Watch out for the Institute’s Briefing Paper – due out in August
- Alongside Governance International, we are already planning a joint two-day Conference/Workshop for professionals interested in this subject (possibly on January 24/25 2008) and we are happy to accept expressions of interest.
This is the 89th Tuesday Topic; a full list of subjects covered is available for Institute members and is a valuable resource covering so many aspects of consultation and engagement