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Buckinghamshire County Council

Buckinghamshire County Council. Developing our approach to Participatory Budgeting 17 November 2008 Madeleine Howe Senior Area Co-ordinator Getting Closer to Communities. Getting Closer to Communities. Our approach to locality working – our vision is:

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Buckinghamshire County Council

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  1. Buckinghamshire County Council Developing our approach to Participatory Budgeting 17 November 2008 Madeleine Howe Senior Area Co-ordinator Getting Closer to Communities

  2. Getting Closer to Communities • Our approach to locality working – our vision is: • To enable partners in Bucks, working with the community, to achieve: • Services tailored to the priorities of 19 local areas • Genuine and increased influence by residents over local decisions and budgets • More accessible and integrated local services • Strengthened local leadership across the three tiers of local government • Introducing Participatory Budgeting is important in the context of our locality strategy

  3. Background – What we already do • Have been doing some elements of ‘PB’ for some time • Some highways funds devolved to district based local committees since 2001 • £500K across the County – approximately £125K to each district area; • Parishes bid for minor environmental schemes relating to their local areas • Youth Opportunities Fund and Youth Capital Fund been up and running in Bucks since 2006 • Young people take an active role in distributing resources to other young people. Project is youth led with support from youth workers

  4. Why we considered Participatory Budgeting • It fits with our locality strategy • Can be flexible • It encourages openness and transparency - better dialogue between members and local communities • It enhances community awareness and understanding: • around council budget setting and prioritising • About the sometimes complex nature of local democracy; • Greater ownership, more inclusive • The work we were already doing around this provided a good starting point

  5. How we got started • Members agreed that we might explore PB in some areas I the Autumn of 2007 • Initial discussions with the PBU re our thinking • Approached by CLG to be a national pilot in December 2007

  6. What we want to do through the pilots • Build on our existing good practice – make it better! • Learn more about how we can make sure that local communities • Get involved in setting local priorities • Can influence how local budgets are spent • Build our capacity and that of our partners and stakeholders in a sustainable manner • Move from limited involvement of local communities in decision making to high levels of active and/or direct participation • Develop an approach to PB that suits our local needs

  7. What is our approach • An incremental approach – a process • One size doesn’t fit all – either for communities or services • A continuum of participation – from passive to active that can be used for different services and different areas • Identify where the service/community is now in terms of community engagement in decision making • Identify where we might get to with engagement – take account of local considerations, cost etc. • Propose and implement actions to move us to that point

  8. The Future – Next Steps • Evaluate this year’s pilot – how far have we ‘moved’ – include young people in this • Plan for next year – particular initiatives to be put in place for next stage – include young people • Bring in District Councils now interested in moving forward on PB • Further discussions with other partners e.g. Fire Service • Explore other models – e.g. how PB is linked to the Local Area Agreement – a focus on crime, the fear of crime perhaps involving the police • Possible workshop to share learning

  9. Why we like our approach • It’s a flexible approach • Matrix can be used to plot different services/communities • Visible – reflects where we are and where we want to be • Its incremental – can take small steps or big jumps to suit stakeholder needs – helps buy in from all parties • Any shift towards more active participation in a success • We can learn and develop out approach while adapting national good practice around democracy to our local context • It isn’t one off – it changes the way we work as an organisation and with our communities • It produces real long term change and it is sustainable

  10. Further information available from: • Sharon Garforth sgarforth@buckscc.gov.uk • Selina Jones sejones@buckscc.gov.uk

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