Article Details
  • Published Online:
    September  2024
  • Product Name:
    The IUP Journal of Case Folio
  • Product Type:
    Article
  • Product Code:
    IJCF050924
  • Author Name:
    Indu Perepu
  • Availability:
    YES
  • Subject/Domain:
    Management
  • Download Format:
    PDF
  • Pages:
    15
National Participatory Budget in Portugal: Reviving the Citizenry Trust in Government
Abstract

Participatory budgeting means involving ordinary citizens in the spending of public funds. It takes people’s participation beyond selecting their elected representatives to deciding on community development projects, deployment of funds, and other areas of intervention, leading to democratization of policy arenas. Originating in Brazil in the 1980s, it spread across the world quickly. This case is about the implementation of National Participatory Budget in Portugal.

Introduction

Participatory budgeting,2 a process that allows people to decide on public investments in different governmental areas, began in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989. It spread globally in the early 2000s. Governments across the world allocated millions of dollars to participatory budgets (PBs). For example, ¤100 mn ($110 mn) was disbursed through a PB in Paris in 2016. Its popularity could be gauged by the fact that as of 2021 there were more than 11,000 PBs across the world in 71 countries.