Participatory Budgeting in the UK and the Government announcement of ten pilot projects to extend local democracy: Did the NPGA make a small contribution to 'new' policy initiatives?
One of the case studies for our research has been the participatory budget initiative in Bradford, (participatory budgeting also forms part of our Medellin and Porto Alegre case studies in Latin America). As part of our interactive not extractive methodology with participants in that process, we have accompanied and worked with those involved in the Bradford PB to track its ebbs and flows and record its potentiality for engaging the most disadvantaged Bradford citizens in meaningful participation. We were also awarded a Practitioner Fellowship, Kezia Lavan, who has been working at the Participatory Budget Unit in Manchester. The fellowship was awarded to enable Kezia to study six pilots (five urban and one village based) in participatory budgeting or grant making in the UK. We worked closely with Kezia to support her in research methods and in the final writing up, and we participated in the feedback seminar to all those involved in these processes in Manchester on 11 June 2007. The meeting was attended by the Department for Local Government and Communities, as well as by participants in all the PB processes.
On 5 July, the new communities secretary, Hazel Blears, gave a presentation to the Local Government Association and stressed a principle of the new Government, that it was committed to a 'reinvention of the way we govern'. Her message centred on the need for a new balance of power between central and local government, in which elected councillors will gain power but so will communities. The idea of 'community empowerment' was a theme of the previous government; Blears is taking a step forward and talking about 'asset transfer' as a means to create 'active citizens'. 'It builds, not threatens, local democracy' she argued (Speech at LGA 5 July 2007). Participatory budgeting is another area where Blears seems to want to dip a toe in the water of innovation. In her speech she refers to four of the case studies in Kezia's report where 'Communities have learnt more about each other. More about how their council works. And they've developed a greater sense of pride and ownership in their area'
Blears went onto announce ten pilot projects in participatory budgeting under a name such as 'people's purse' or 'community kitty' which is less dry and obtuse. The problem here is that the government is not in fact apparently offering any new money, and all these pilots are already under way, or planning has begun. However, in terms of change and opportunity, formal, public government recognition of these innovations marks some kind of step forward in participatory practice.
It is certainly possible that Kezia's report played some role in this decision, as we know it was eagerly awaited by the DLGC officers who attended the launch event. Kezia's report however, is very nuanced. It points to the great potential in these initiatives, but also the many challenges. The context for these initiatives is not the same as in Latin America. The weaker level of autonomous organizing and political engagement, means that many of the initiatives are top-down experiments, attempting to encourage 'buy-in' from processes designed (with some exceptions) without much community participation. Each of the pilots has a very different interpretation of PB, and in most cases are closer to experiments in participatory grant making than budgeting. Only one case involved mainstream local authority funding. Many depended on committed individuals, who had come to hear about the Porto Alegre experience and interpreted it for the context, but often with far less overt political vision. Often this appeared to reflect their need not to frighten or threaten officers or councillors with anything too radical. There is an ongoing debate about whether everyone gains from PB and/or whether it challenges power relations at the municipal level.
Nevertheless, the new government's support for more experimentation is an opportunity for the people trying to deepen participatory possibilities (for whatever reason) in the UK. Our research project will build on this when we organize a seminar to disseminate our findings from our 12 case studies in the UK in January next year. We are now expecting even more interest in this event , in this opportune moment to create greater discussion around new forms of participation at the municipal level and their meaning for democracy, poverty and inequality.