How a Participatory Budget Can Support Sustainable Rural Development—Lessons From Poland

Abstract

Since the announcement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the need for localization of SDGs has been emphasized. In this context, sustainable rural development is still a relatively undescribed area in the context of using the participatory budget as a tool to implement SDGs. Few countries have introduced legal regulations in practice, enabling the creation of participatory budgets (especially in rural areas), so a multifaceted analysis of a decade of Poland's experience may provide important guidelines for countries considering introducing such solutions, which we consider to be the main purpose of this study. This is the first study covering all communes where participatory budgets (Solecki Fund—FS) were created in Poland during the 2010–2018 period (up to 60% of all), covering both the analysis of the process of creating FSs, the directions of spending and the scale of spending (including regional differentiation), as well as legal regulations and the consequences of including central government support in this mechanism. On the basis of the research, it can be observed that, despite the small scale of FS spending, the number of municipalities using this form of citizen participation is increasing. At the same time, there is significant variation between regions, which indicates the flexibility of the FSs in adapting to the needs reported by residents. The analysed directions of expenditure indicate that the FSs are in line with the SDG objectives related to the improvement of residents' quality of life. It can be concluded that, despite the existing legal regulations, the introduction of the Solecki Fund undoubtedly depends on the political will of the local government's legislative authorities and the willingness of residents to participate in decisions on spending directions.

Grants for Local Community Initiatives as a Way to Increase Public Participation of Inhabitants of Rural Areas

“…It is worth noting that the use of the process based on the concept of participatory budgets in rural areas is less frequent than in the case of cities [7][8][9][10], and various issues stemming from the specificity of rural areas (e.g., the nature of farming work, territorial dispersion, a lack of willingness to co-operate, overly complicated procedures) may be encountered [11,12]. One should note that the research concerning relations between forms of participatory budget (PB) and social capital indicates the existence of such correlations [13].…”

“…More than 60 expanding or alternative concepts of the participation of citizens in actions of public institutions [73] have been launched on the basis of this model or in reaction to it. The following models are frequently presented as examples (see [9]): Connor's (new rungs of Arnstein's ladder) [74], Wilcox's (three dimensions perspective: levels, phases, and people) [75], Timney's (three models of participation: active, transitional, and passive) [76], and the International Association for Public Participation's (IAP2) public participation spectrum (five levels of participation) [77]. The diversification of perspectives on civil participation also stems from the perception of its place in individual concepts of public management, from new public management (e.g., Timney [76]-citizens as consumers), public value (e.g., Bryson et al [78]-participative citizens), and new public governance (e.g., Pestoff [79]citizens as co-producers of public services).…”

The Village Fund Program in Indonesia: Measuring the Effectiveness and Alignment to Sustainable Development Goals

“…It has been argued that countries with large development gaps between rural and urban areas would face greater challenges in achieving the SDGs, particularly because the issues of poverty, agriculture, and public welfare are strongly linked to rural areas and contribute to the instability of developing countries [3]. To overcome the current gap, it is recommended that the implementation of the SDGs be carried out from the bottom up, with local governments playing an essential role in the realization of the SDGs [4]. The role of local government becomes very important in the overall development of rural areas, which require good local institutions to promote and create a sustainable environment [5].…”

“…The role of local government becomes very important in the overall development of rural areas, which require good local institutions to promote and create a sustainable environment [5]. Therefore, local governments need sufficient resources to implement regional development [4].…”

Metodología de participación ciudadana en el proceso de desarrollo rural endógeno en el caso Cantón Limón Indanza.

“…Según Bednarska-Olejniczak et al (2020), los conceptos teóricos de la participación ciudadana en las actividades de las instituciones públicas, como brazo ejecutor de las políticas gubernamentales que rigen la actuación y el destino del Estado Finalmente, es necesario mencionar el modelo de Sherry Arnstein, conocido como la Escalera de Arnstein, presentado por esta autora en 1969, el cual constituye una de las principales teorías de la participación ciudadana; distingue entre ocho tipos de participación, ordenado jerárquicamente de acuerdo con el aumento del poder de decisión de los interesados, (Bednarska-Olejniczak et al, 2020). A continuación, se muestra una representación del esquema de dicha teoría: Cada uno de estos niveles hace referencia a la capacidad de decisión de los ciudadanos y de la influencia de la administración gubernamental sobre los mismos (Bednarska-Olejniczak et al, 2020).…”