With the help of Osbu, residents can influence their own everyday life and life

The ideas have been screened, it's time to vote. For the third time, the people of Riihimäki get to decide how 100 euros will be allocated for the common benefit and joy of the townspeople. Voting will start on January 000, and the implementation of the ideas with the most votes will begin in February. In the participatory budgeting idea collection, the people of Riihimäki made a total of 10 proposals, of which the most feasible ones advanced through the preparation phase to the vote.

"Among the proposals this time, there were a considerable number of ideas related to exercise, outdoor recreation and youth", says the administrative manager of the city of Riihimäki Katja Törrönen.

Free condoms for young people, X-ray machine for the vet, control of Spanish sirens, outdoor concerts. The above are examples of city dwellers' ideas that have already been implemented or are being implemented in Riihimäki using participatory budgeting, i.e. osbu. According to Katja Törrönen, the form of operation immediately received an enthusiastic reception from the townspeople in 2019. He states that the Municipal Act obliges to strengthen the influence and participation of the municipal residents, and osbu is one of the available means. In Riihimäki, funds obtained from the sale of Riihimäki Kaukolämpö Oy have been allocated to osbu. EUR 100 of them are used annually.

Special expert of the municipal association Päivi Kurikka hopes that the idea of ​​participatory budgeting will become more common in municipalities and remain a permanent tool.

"However, I emphasize the diversity of municipalities. This cannot be expected of municipalities, but even with a small amount you can get started," he encourages.

Kurikka states that the feeling of inclusion is not a trivial matter. It means that the individual feels himself to be relevant in his own immediate community. Participation is the feeling that it is possible to influence one's everyday life and life.

According to Kurika, it would be worthwhile to utilize the residents' willingness to participate and the resources hidden in the resident communities in municipal organizations on a wider scale. However, he is concerned that those with the greatest experience of incompetence are in danger of being excluded from forms of influence.

In Riihimäki, for example, youth participation is promoted by the fact that even 12-year-olds can participate in osbu if they wish. Efforts have been made to make it easier for people of different ages to participate, for example by making suggestions and voting both electronically and on paper.

Riihimäki is one of osbu's pilot clubs in Finland

Katja Törrönen wonders if the experience of influence could be deepened in such a way that different groups of residents in the different stages of the osbu would participate more broadly in thinking about and planning the proposals together with the office holders. He reminds that if the municipality really wants to listen to its customers, sufficient working time must be reserved for the various stages of participatory budgeting:

"In order for participation to take place, it must be well planned and justified."

This is also the opinion of a researcher at the University of Tampere Lotta-Maria Sinervo. He is one of those working at LAB University of Applied Sciences Annukka Heinonen with engaged in the practices of participatory budgeting in the joint EmPaci project of six countries. Riihimäki and Lahti have been the project's pilot municipalities in Finland.

According to Sinervo, the popularity of osbu is growing worldwide, and at least twenty Finnish municipalities have actively adopted it.

He states that it is not a standard model that would work everywhere with the same template. It develops and adapts according to local needs, but the idea is always to increase the democracy and transparency of decision-making and the residents' experience of participation.

Osbu connects to a broad trend where network-like cooperation between different operators is perceived as valuable. The growth in popularity may also be due to the fact that osbu is so concretely and perceptually connected to the use of money.

Sinervo states that the benefits of the method may be best highlighted when it is targeted or tailored for the benefit of, for example, a certain group of residents, such as children and young people.

"Then there are greater opportunities to offer experiences of inclusion also to those whose voices are more likely to be unheard."

What is osbu?

Participatory budgeting, or osbu, is a method of operation in which the citizens of the municipality can participate in the planning and decision-making of the use of common tax resources. The model can be applied in different ways in different locations.

The method of operation was developed in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in the 1980s.

Osbu has been used by many big cities such as New York, Paris, London, Madrid and Helsinki.

In Riihimäki, osbu progresses through the collection of ideas to the implementation evaluation and voting. The proposals that received the most votes from the municipalities are implemented. Both private citizens and communities can propose.

Riihimäki has reserved a total of one million euros for osbu, of which 100 euros have been reserved for this round. The ideas must be of general benefit and in line with the city's values, strategy and authority.

The voting period is 10–30.1.2022 January 1.2.2022. The results will be announced on February XNUMX, XNUMX, and the implementation phase will begin in February.

Sources: Confederation of Municipalities, LAB University of Applied Sciences

 

Kaisa Hako