Policy Context and Legal Framework

Implementation and Management Approach

Supported by an intense communication campaign (mailing lists, TV, radio, newspapers), the city administration launched a pioneering experiment in four of its nine districts using telephony in its PB as a supplementary information and consultation tool. In this respect, in the participant districts:
- A free phone number was provided which citizens could call in order to specify their preferences regarding the allocation of the local budget.
- Mobile telephony was also used, with SMS messages sent to citizens encouraging them to participate in the process by indicating their preferences and by attending the meetings
- An automated system of phone calls was deployed, with calls to citizens’ landlines with a recorded voice message from the mayor inviting citizens to the PB meetings, followed by an indication of the date and location (specific to each district) of the assembly.

Impact

A survey was carried out amongst citizens who attended the Participatory Budgeting district meetings. Presented below are some of the results:
- The majority of citizens (52.8%) still indicated their budget allocations preferences through written forms.
- Nearly half (47.2%) of the preferences indications came through the Internet (38.2%) or the free phone number (9%).
- Compared to the previous years, in the districts where the experiment did not take place a decline in participation of 16.1% was identified, whereas in the districts where the experiment took place participation increased by 14.7%.
- Nearly half (48.2%) of those who attended the meetings and who had previously indicated public works to be submitted to vote had done so either via the Internet or the free phone number.
- Over 50% of those who attended the meetings declared that the telephone calls they received with a recorded voice message from the mayor was the means of communication that most motivated them to attend the meetings.

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - In participatory initiatives, ICTs should be seen as a complementary means to enhance participation, without replacing existing practices (e.g. written forms for indication of preferences).

Lesson 2 - Information: multi-channel approach increases citizens' awareness about the opportunities for involvement (e.g. automated system of phone calls, mailing and radio announcements).

Lesson 3 - Participation: multi-channel approach tends to decrease the cost of participation to citizens who wish to participate (e.g. free number for indicating preferences, Internet)