Lucy Berman, ONE|NB’s Associate Director of Advocacy & Organizing, joined a panel at Brown University on Nov. 8, 2023 to discuss Participatory Budgeting.
The event, called “Democratic Innovation to Address Big Challenges,” was sponsored by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a democratic process where community members decide how to allocate part of a public budget. The approach is being implemented in more than 10,000 places worldwide, and participatory budgeting voting took place in summer 2023 in Central Providence and Pawtucket/Central Falls. The event provided insights into how Rhode Island communities have used PB to address significant challenges in public education and health equity.
The event was co-moderated by Allegra Scharff, Chief of Healthcare Equity at RIDOH, and Breanna Lemieux, Accountable Entity Program Lead at EOHHS.
Panelists included:
- Jonathan Collins, Sr., Assistant Professor of Political Science, Public Policy, and Education at Brown University
- Rebecca Marcus, Assistant Program Officer, Pawtucket/Central Falls Health Equity Zone, LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation)
- Lucy Berman, Associate Director of Advocacy & Organizing at Central Providence Opportunities Health Equity Zone, ONE|NB
- Joana Yeboa, Pawtucket resident and PB Steering Committee member
- Pam Jennings, PB Technical Assistance Coordinator
- Matthew Lioe, Research Assistant
- Michelle Alas-Molina, Research Assistant
Lucy Berman discussed Health Equity Zones (HEZs) and their role in improving health outcomes. She explained that HEZs are place-based initiatives that address health disparities specific to each geography. They focus on social determinants of health, such as access to healthy food, quality education, and job opportunities, and are community-led.
She mentioned that the two HEZs, Central Providence and Pawtucket/Central Falls, received $450,000 in funding from the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. In Central Providence, the Nine Neighborhood Fund was able to get matching funding, bringing their total to $1 million. The funds, approved by voters in June 2023, will be used to fund various projects, including improving park amenities, distributing lead filters, providing mental health training for students, and improving bus shelters. Smaller projects included a life skills class for youth, tree planting, a soccer league, and a bike distribution and repair program.
Berman highlighted that the process changed the way participants thought about health, recognizing that factors like housing and food access are integral to health and well-being. The process built trust in the community and demonstrated the importance of community engagement in promoting health. She emphasized that community members should be recognized as experts of their own experience and that they deserve the money to fund their ideas. Lastly, she stressed the importance of completing the process — making the proposed projects happen — to maintain the trust of the community. Requests for proposals are currently under way in Central Providence.
Joana Yeboa, a member of the steering committee for Pawtucket-Central Falls, explained the process for participatory budgeting. As a member of the committee that helped write the rules, she said, they worked on questions about who could submit ideas, who could vote, and what programs could be funded. They also collected ideas from residents on how they would invest money to improve health in their community.
In Central Falls, more than 800 people voted, and in Central Providence, more than 1200 people voted, Yeboa said. In Pawtucket-Central Falls, the project that got the most votes were for a sprinkler water park and outdoor gym equipment and an End the Stigma Campaign for Mental Health.
Yeboa said she was surprised by how passionate she became about the process, how this kind of decision-making can really make a difference, and how much it affected her peers.
Dr. Jonathan Collins, the director of the Paved Research Initiative, discussed their work on PB in schools. He emphasized the importance of democratizing the process of school improvement by involving all students, not just a few leaders, in decision-making. He said that the value of this initiative extends beyond the allocation of funds, and that the process itself can lead to problem-solving and improvements that don’t necessarily require additional funding.
He said that starting a conversation can often prompt those in power to address issues. Looking ahead, Collins said he envisions the PB spreading more widely in the K-12 system and eventually into higher education. He said that’s based on his belief that a fundamental problem in America is people’s lack of understanding of how money operates, and that participatory budgeting can increase financial literacy.
The next step for participatory budgeting, he said, is to demonstrate its actual benefits to communities. Collins called for the expansion and careful study of PB to show that it is a viable way to improve lives.
Michelle Alas-Molina and Matthew Lioe, students working with Dr. Jonathan Collins, discussed their experiences with PB in schools.
Alas-Molina explained that PB started in Brazil and has been used in many cities around the world. In their project, Brown gave their school a $10,000 grant. The students then discussed how best to use the money. The goal was to give all students, especially those from low-income backgrounds or students of color, a chance to learn civic responsibility and to feel more connected.
Lioe talked about the challenges they faced in getting students to participate in online meetings. So they decided to go directly to classrooms and ask students what they would spend $10,000 on. The students came up with practical ideas like improving food and bathrooms. As a result, they started a cooking class and a gardening club in the school.
In the second year, they changed the project to focus more on the students’ experience, he said. They organized activities to get students talking about budgeting and their school. By the third year, they had developed a curriculum that could be used in any middle school.
Both Alas-Molina and Lioe emphasized that PB is not just about making a budget or deciding on a project. It’s about learning throughout the process. They mentioned another project called “Power to the People,” where they received a $100,000 grant. This project aimed to get students thinking about who should make spending decisions.
They concluded by sharing how PB has affected them personally and professionally, and how it has taken them all over the world. They stressed the importance of considering the local community when setting up and implementing new PB processes.
Pam Jennings noted that there are resources available for learning more about participatory budgeting. She mentioned the decideri.org website, which not only allowed people to vote but also serves as a repository of all the projects and related information. Other websites to look to for more information include pavedresearch.com and participatorybudgeting.org.
Jennings noted the diversity of the crowd involved in participatory budgeting, with participants ranging from kids to adults of all races. She shared her vision of participatory budgeting happening throughout K-12 education, with young people who are engaged in the process becoming leaders when participatory budgeting happens at the city or municipal level.
Seeing PB projects come together can serve to build trust in communities, she said. PB has been occurring in Central Falls for almost five years, she said, and young people are becoming more interested and excited about it. She encouraged people to reach out to learn more about PB and how it could work in other communities.
