Community-Based Work and Participatory Budgeting

Abstract

Participatory budgeting (PB) works best if this activity is viewed to be part of a trend that is referred to as community-based work. But this connection is not often made. As a result, many PB projects tend to drift away from their home communities. Although working in communities is thought to be a very practical endeavor, philosophy should not be ignored, particularly if the aim is to be community-based. Some examples are supplied in this paper that illustrate how this community-based philosophy alters, and improves, some traditional phases of PB projects. The overall result is to keep these budgeting projects informed by local knowledge and under community control.