2022 Award "Best Practice in Citizen Participation"
16th Edition
The first participatory budgets of the Generalitat (GVA) arose from the political will to increase the capacity of Valencian citizens in the decision making process of public policies in the Region, as well as in the distribution of public budgets. 125 million euros were allocated to direct citizen decision.
The process began by disseminating and informing citizens on how to take part in the decision-making process and propose the implementation of public policies at the regional level. A period was opened for the presentation of proposals following the principle of territorial structuring, in which citizens presented their projects. Subsequently, through the web portal GVA Participa, citizens could vote twice on the 874 proposals submitted, thus narrowing them down to the final 96. The proposals were evaluated by experts based on financial viability criteria and with a limit of the global amount of the participatory budgets to determine which projects were viable, their economic valuation and thus approving them for voting. The citizens themselves were called to ultimately support the initiatives channeled through the portal GVA Participa to subsequently implement the most voted proposals.
This pilot project is a milestone, since it is the first experience of its kind at the regional level. It is an innovative project that opens new paths in participatory experiences and is an inspiration for other Autonomous Communities that seek to replicate this model, as it is clear that the experience strengthens a democracy focused and committed to the co-management of public policies.
Participatory budgets seek to consolidate over time as a tool for citizen participation at regional level within our legal system, putting the focus on the decision-making power of citizens on how and to what part of the public money should be allocated. In this way, participatory budgets are not only a clear commitment to the democratization of public spending, but also aim to improve the context of Valencians through a committed response to their demands.
In addition to encouraging participation, the project is based on transparency and accountability within a context of open government, in which citizens not only elaborate and vote on proposals, but also have access to information on the entire process. The implementation of the projects is justified through official public documents that certify the viability of the proposals so that citizens can keep track of the final projects through the GVA Participa portal, the latter serving as a permanent communication channel between the different departments of the Administration and civil society, and strengthening synergies between all agents.
Currently and until December 31, 2023, the participatory budgets are in the execution phase. Once this last phase is concluded, future scenarios for participatory budgets may be considered, within the framework of a clear commitment to citizen participation.
https://participem.gva.es/es/portal-de-participacion
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