Participatory budgeting has emerged as one of the strongest methods of community engagement for governments looking to make their communities more inclusive and participatory. By organizing a participatory budget, you can tap directly into the collective intelligence of your community and align the allocation of public funds with real-life community needs.
Big consultations matter, but they should not be the only time residents get a say. This guide brings together 25 easy-to-run ideas for involving people more often, whether you add a small participation moment to work already underway or launch a light standalone initiative. Each idea is designed to be focused, meaningful, and realistic to follow through on.
Participation is most effective when it's not the work of one team, but a shared capability across the whole organization. This guide explores the six enablers that help local governments move from ad-hoc, fragmented engagement to a coordinated, organization-wide approach.
Written in collaboration with the Department of Civic Things, part one of this two-part series explores the steps you need to take to create a sustainable and effective engagement strategy for your government agency. Dive into the best practices and guidelines on equitable, meaningful community engagement and build a stronger community together with your residents.
In 20 minutes, you’ll see how to reach the hard-to-reach residents, collect higher-quality input, and make better-informed decisions — all in one AI-supercharged platform.
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