International experience of larger scale initiatives

Paris has been running the largest scale Participatory Budgeting process in Europe. Launched in 2014, Paris implements a successful method of citizen participation. Ideas are developed and submitted on an Internet platform by residents or groups of residents. In 2015, Parisians submitted over 5,000 projects. In 2014, the first year of its operation, over 40,000 Parisians chose 9 winning projects at a cost of €17.7 million. In 2015, this increased to nearly 67,000 participants. They selected 8 projects for Paris as a whole, and 180 projects for arondissements (city districts). The Paris projects and the arondissements in 2015 represent an allocated budget of around €67 million.

In Iceland, the Better Reykjavik website enables citizens to voice, debate and prioritise ideas to improve their city, giving the voters a direct influence on decision making of the City Council. The website was launched in 2010 and it has attracted over 12,000 registered users with over 50,000 unique visitors the past 12 months in a city of 120,000 people. In 2014 300 million ISK (1.9 million EUR) were allocated as part of an open budgeting process to 10 different neighbourhoods in the City of Reykjavik.

In Finland, Open Ministry has assisted citizens in drafting laws. The citizens’ initiative amendment to the Constitution in 2012 ensures each Finnish citizen the right to have his or her bill presented to the parliament. The prerequisite is that minimums of 50,000 persons of voting age back the bill. Open Ministry, has been involved in drafting the bills aimed at changing the copyright laws and establishing the equal marriage law.