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Participatory Budgeting

The Office of Participatory Budgeting provides an official point of entry for Boston residents to contribute to the city's budget process. 

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The Office of Participatory Budgeting (OPB) advances its mission by:

  • Furthering public engagement and direct democratic involvement;
  • Building collective capacity on issues of racial and social justice; and,
  • Aligning with the City's goal of achieving and embedding equity and inclusion into City practices.
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Ideas in Action

Ideas in Action is the City's new Participatory Budgeting initiative, where Bostonians can decide how to spend a part of the City’s budget. Learn how to submit an idea and get involved in the City's budgeting process.

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About Our Work

What is Participatory Budgeting?

Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process where community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. Participatory Budgeting started as an anti-poverty measure in 1989 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Since then, it has spread to hundreds of cities around the world.

Participatory Budgeting is a practice that deepens democracy, builds stronger communities, and creates a more equitable distribution of public resources. 

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Participatory Budgeting in Boston

In Boston, Youth Lead the Change was established in 2014 as a youth-led participatory budgeting initiative. The process is currently led by the Office of Youth Engagement and Advancement. It invests one million dollars of the City’s capital budget to give young people the power to decide how to spend it for the benefit of their communities.

In the 2021 Municipal Election, Boston voters approved a ballot measure to create the Office of Participatory Budgeting. The Office is charged with furthering public engagement on how the City’s budget is created and how tax dollars are spent.The Participatory Budgeting process is designed to empower constituents in working alongside the City in budget development.

Board Meeting Materials

Meeting Materials

Read About Us in the Press

Press
How would you spend $2m of city’s money? - Dorchester Reporter
Boston’s mandate for residents’ say in spending city tax dollars is coming to l…
Boston residents now have say in city budgeting - The Bay State Banner
How should Boston spend $2 million? Today's the deadline to send in ideas - WBUR
Boston Residents Determining How The City Spends Its Money - WBZ Boston's News …

External Oversight Board

  • Esther Chong Weathers, Associate Director of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at the Harvard Graduate School of Design
  • James Kennedy, Retired member of the Office of Budget Management, City of Boston
  • Carla Stovell, Board Member, New England United 4 Justice
  • Jarret Wright, Director of Cybersecurity, Massachusetts Port Authority
  • Marilyn Forman, Director of Community Organizing and Resident Engagement, Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation
  • Lisa Hy, Program Manager, Tufts Medical Center Community Benefits and Health Initiatives

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Staff
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