Participatory Budgeting: An Empowering Democratic Institution

Distrust in authorities, low levels of civic activism, social problems and inefficient governance undermine the legitimacy of governments and create a demand for new institutional solutions for enhanced democracy and better public services. In the digital world, these solutions are expected to be hightech. To address the challenge, authorities usually try to increase transparency by developing websites. This is insufficient, as people also expect greater accountability and empowered participation. Therefore, governments and civil society leaders are seeking social innovations. One such solution, a comprehensive one, is participatory budgeting (also known as PB).