Inspect Your Local Participatory Budget
Public scrutiny
Completed
śląskie
Katowice
Non-Governmental Cooperative, Warszawa, Poland
2014-09-01 - 2016-04-30
360 207,04 PLN
324 137,04 PLN
local government, public finances, accessing public data, participatory budgeting
Project description
The first civil budget in Poland was introduced in Sopot in 2011, and ever since, the idea has been rapidly becoming more and more popular, and the number of municipalities that introduced the mechanism has already exceeded 100. Importantly, the idea raises interest among local inhabitants (the turnover in votes often reaches 20-30% of all eligible persons, and inhabitants usually present many proposals). The civil budgets in Poland show the need for co-deciding on the part of inhabitants. The mechanism helps to build social capital and enhance civil responsibility. But the budgets can be often defectively implemented, so a reliable survey of civil budgets in Poland has a key role for their future development.
The aim of the project was to diagnose the weak and strong sides of the process. Another aim was to develop a tool that, after completion of the project, can support implementing local monitoring in municipalities and including local communities in development of civil budgets.
Under the project, a pilot monitoring of implementation of civil budgets in 6 municipalities in Silesia was led. Each of them ended with publication of a report. Then, monitoring was conducted in 18 municipalities from all over Poland, also ended with reports. 2 summary reports (after pilot monitoring and at the end of the project) were also prepared, the tool for monitoring was developed, and 9 local debates were organised, gathering about 180 persons.
The project resulted in changes in implementing civil budgets in all 6 municipalities where pilot and proper monitoring was conducted, and works on introducing changes in another several municipalities covered only by monitoring. Another result is developing and testing the tool for civil budget monitoring and showing that through monitoring the implementation of civil budgets can be amended and their content can be influenced.
The project benefited authorities and inhabitants of 18 monitored municipalities, and authorities and inhabitants of other Polish municipalities and cities that introduced or plan to introduce civil budgets.
The partner of the project was the Non-Governmental Cooperative whose expert participated in works on every stage of the project, including developing the tool, conducting monitoring, preparing reports and leading debates.
We use the grant for capacity building
The aim of the project was to diagnose the weak and strong sides of the process. Another aim was to develop a tool that, after completion of the project, can support implementing local monitoring in municipalities and including local communities in development of civil budgets.
Under the project, a pilot monitoring of implementation of civil budgets in 6 municipalities in Silesia was led. Each of them ended with publication of a report. Then, monitoring was conducted in 18 municipalities from all over Poland, also ended with reports. 2 summary reports (after pilot monitoring and at the end of the project) were also prepared, the tool for monitoring was developed, and 9 local debates were organised, gathering about 180 persons.
The project resulted in changes in implementing civil budgets in all 6 municipalities where pilot and proper monitoring was conducted, and works on introducing changes in another several municipalities covered only by monitoring. Another result is developing and testing the tool for civil budget monitoring and showing that through monitoring the implementation of civil budgets can be amended and their content can be influenced.
The project benefited authorities and inhabitants of 18 monitored municipalities, and authorities and inhabitants of other Polish municipalities and cities that introduced or plan to introduce civil budgets.
The partner of the project was the Non-Governmental Cooperative whose expert participated in works on every stage of the project, including developing the tool, conducting monitoring, preparing reports and leading debates.
