Features and drivers of citizen participation: Insights from participatory budgeting in three European cities

Figures & data

Table 1. Interviewees with their different roles in the participatory budgeting process.

	Bologna (B)	Stuttgart (S)	Zaragoza (Z)
Local government actors	Government official in charge of the budget (Interviewee B1)	Government official and Participation Advisory Board member (S1)	Government official in charge of the budget (Z1)
	Government official in charge of PB process (B2)*	Government technician in charge of PB process (S2)
		Governmental head of the public relations department (S3)
External actors with a key role in implementing participatory budgeting	Head of the foundation in charge of PB, University of Bologna (financed by the City Council) (B3)	Member of the voluntary working group (S4)*	Chair of the Citizen Participation Laboratory, University of Zaragoza (financed by the City Council) (Z2)*
	Member of the foundation framing and monitoring the PB (B2)*	Member of the voluntary working group (S5)*
Citizens and their representatives	Expert citizen (B4)	Member of the voluntary working group (S4)*	Expert in citizen participation (Z2)*
	Representative of a neighbourhood association (B5)	Member of the voluntary working group (S5)*	Representative of a neighbourhood association (Z3)
	Chair of the district workshop in charge of the administrative process (B6)	Representative of a citizen association (S6)	Secretary of a neighbourhood association (Z4)

Note. *: Interviewees acting in the process with different roles

Figure 1. PB in Bologna, Stuttgart and Zaragoza.

Source: Authors’elaboration on Sintomer, Herzberg, and Röcke (2008) and Barbera, Sicilia, and Steccolini (2016b)

Table 2. Key features of the participatory budgeting processes for each case study.

	Bologna Italy	Stuttgart Germany	Zaragoza Spain
GENERAL
Population at time of PB	389,000	635,000	660,000
Number of districts	6	23	14
Political party	Left-wing	Green	Left-wing
Participatory budgeting frequency	Annual	Biennial (like the budget)	Annual
PB cycle	1	5	1
PB proportion of total budget (%)	0.2%	Flexible	0.7%
Funds allocated to PB per inhabitant (€)	2.57€	Flexible	7.57€
Eligibility to vote	All residents over 16 (plus not resident workers and volunteers)	All residents of all ages	All residents over 14
THE INCEPTION
Inception key players	Politicians, association, and citizens	Citizens	Politicians
Project development leaders	Municipal technicians and external public foundation	Municipal technicians and external working group	Municipal politicians and municipal technicians
Key implementers	District councils	Ex-head of the City Treasurer’s Office; working group	District boards; district participatory committees
THE PARTICIPATION PROCESS
Key players	Citizens and associations	Citizens and external working group	Citizens and participatory committees
Tools	District workshop, informal meetings	District meetings, seminars	District forums
Facilitators	Municipal technicians, to a great extent	Volunteers	Municipal technicians, to a low extent
Number of proposals	84	3,753	1,484
THE DELIBERATION PROCESS
Presentation of proposals	In person and online	In person and online	In person and online
Feedback (from other citizens)	In person and online	In person and online	In person and online
Kind of assessment	Technical and economic feasibility	None (only a merger of similar proposals)	Technical and economic feasibility
Proposals remaining	27	2,901	211
THE FINAL DECISION
Proposals approved by vote	6	Unclear (but 130 proposals submitted to the Municipal Council)	120
Implementation of the most voted proposals	Compulsory for the Municipal Council (for all the winning proposals)	Not compulsory for the Municipal Council, irrespective of the vote	Compulsory for the Municipal Council (for all the winning proposals)

Sintomer, Y., C. Herzberg, and A. Röcke. 2008. “Participatory Budgeting in Europe: Potentials and Challenges.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 32 (1): 164–178. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00777.x.

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Barbera, C., M. Sicilia, and I. Steccolini. 2016b. “The Participatory Budgeting as a Form of Co-Production.” In Co-production in the Public Sector, edited by M. Fugini, E. Bracci, and M. Sicilia, 27–39. Switzerland: Springer.

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