Enabling multichannel participation through ICT adaptations for participatory budgeting

Abstract

Participatory budgeting (PB) represents a significant civic innovation of the last quarter-century. At a time when voter turnout in Europe was lagging and public institutions struggling to maintain trust and legitimacy within a framework of growing budgetary cuts, PB has proved itself to be a potential tool for citizens to join in the essential tasks of governing, not only as voters but also as decision-makers themselves. In line with this context, the authors present the concept of EMPATIA that seeks to radically enhance the inclusiveness and impact of PB processes, increasing the participation of citizens by designing, evaluating and making publicly available an advanced ICT platform for participatory budgeting, which could be adaptable to different social and institutional contexts. This paper also discusses the context of the three field trial sites and the expected outcomes of EMPATIA.